Originally published February 21 2006
Calcium scanner revolutionizing the way doctors assess heart attack risk
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
News8Austin.com talks with Dr. John Sutherland, medical director of the Arizona Heart Institute's new 64 Slice Calcium Scan Center, about the effectiveness of a new CT scanner that has improved the imaging capabilities of internal medicine.
Are you at risk for a heart attack?
The more plaque a patient has, the greater likelihood of arterial narrowing, thus increasing a patient's risk of developing a heart attack.
"In the absence of having a crystal ball, this test gives us another useful tool for helping identify people at risk for early heart disease," Dr. John Sutherland, medical director of the Arizona Heart Institute's new 64 Slice Calcium Scan Center, said.
The 64 Slice Calcium Scanner can produce a heart calcium score in just 15 seconds, which assists doctors immediately in assessing a patient's risk of developing coronary artery disease.
This is the first system that enables cardiologists to capture 3-D images of the heart and coronary arteries in just five heartbeats.
Due to its high speed, it allows physicians to secure extremely high-quality images of coronary arteries at sub millimeter resolution.
The cylinder can tilt and the X-ray scanning devices within it rotate to obtain the 64 slice views needed.
Each X-ray pulse lasts only a fraction of a second, and it takes only a few seconds for the machine to record each slice.
A CT scan provides clearer pictures of internal organs (such as the heart) than regular X-rays.
In addition, a 3-D picture of the inside of a patient's body is created; giving doctors a much clearer and immediate view of the heart and blood vessels.
The images created by the new CT scanner allows doctors us to get a better look at patients internal organs with very little discomfort within minutes.
The new scanner emphasizes a new level of patient comfort.
Testing is performed as an outpatient service; it takes seconds to produce images and uses a very low amount of contrast.
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