Author(s): Dr John Li, Dr Nazia Malik, Dr Unni Krishnan

Hospital: East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Reference: RAD Magazine, 46, 537, 20-21

Excerpt: 

Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of death in the UK. As part of the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease introduced in 2000, rapid access clinics have been set up for early diagnosis and treatment of cardiac chest pain. While invasive coronary angiography (ICA) remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of CAD, it is a resource-intensive investigation associated with a small risk of serious complications. CT coronary angiography (CTCA) has proven to be a safe, non-invasive investigation for the diagnosis of CAD with diagnostic accuracy comparable with ICA and is now a first-line test recommended for the assessment of cardiac chest pain. We aim to provide a general overview of some of the common uses of CTCA for the interventional cardiologist as well as a discussion of the future directions of use for this important imaging modality.