Elite Imaging is proud to offer an important addition to its comprehensive list of cardiac diagnostic imaging services. With our state of the art Siemens 16-slice Multi-Detector CT helical scanner, we are now able to offer the innovative Coronary Artery CT Angiography to patients in our community.

CT-based coronary angiography is a new, non-invasive alternative to cardiac catheterization for some patients. This new technology has consistently shown the ability to rule out significant narrowing of the major coronary arteries and can non-invasively detect "soft plaque," or fatty matter, in their walls that has not yet hardened but that may lead to future problems without lifestyle changes or medical treatment.

Clinical studies have shown that coronary CTA is reliable for the non-invasive assessment of stenoses in the proximal and mid regions of the coronary arteries, where the majority of stenoses are found. Both the sensitivity and specificity for the detection of clinically significant stenoses are about 90%.

Benefits of Coronary CTA

• Non-invasive diagnosis
• Can rule out coronary stenoses with high accuracy
• Can establish patency of by-pass grafts and stented arteries
• Can visualize cardiac and coronary venous anatomy
• Can assess calcified and non-calcified plaque burden

Who should consider coronary CTA?

Coronary CTA examinations can determine if there is significant narrowing in the coronary arteries, as well as a presence of fatty deposits. This has been found to be particularly valuable in asymptomatic patients with higher risk for coronary disease, in patients with atypical symptoms but lower risk of coronary disease, or in patients with unclear stress-test results. As a result, many physicians advocate the careful use of coronary CTA for patients who have:

• Intermediate to high-risk profiles for coronary artery disease, but who do not have typical symptoms (especially chest pain, shortness of breath, or fatigue during heavy physical activity.)
• Unusual symptoms for coronary artery disease (such as chest pain unrelated to physical exertion), but low to intermediate risk profiles for coronary artery disease.
• Unclear or inconclusive stress-test (treadmill test) results.

For these types of patients, coronary CTA can provide important insights to their primary physician into the extent and nature of plaque formation with or without any narrowing of the coronary arteries. Coronary CTA also can non-invasively exclude narrowing of the arteries as the cause of chest discomfort and detect other possible causes of symptoms.