0000000000408934
AUTHOR
Timo Baks
Non-invasive visualisation of coronary atherosclerosis: state-of-art.
Coronary artery disease remains the leading cause of death in the Western world. Non-invasive coronary artery imaging challenges any diagnostic modality because the coronary arteries are small and tortuous, whereas cardiac contraction and respiration cause motion artifacts. Therefore, non-invasive coronary imaging requires high spatial and temporal resolution. This review discusses the feasible applications in coronary imaging of magnetic resonance imaging and multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT), which are currently the only non-invasive diagnostic modalities for direct coronary atherosclerosis imaging. Particular attention and focus is devoted to the potential indications and clinical i…
Improving diagnostic accuracy of MDCT coronary angiography in patients with mild heart rhythm irregularities using ECG editing
OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to compare diagnostic accuracy of MDCT coronary angiography in a population of patients with mild heart rhythm irregularities before and after editing the ECG. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Thirty-eight patients who underwent MDCT coronary angiography and conventional coronary angiography were enrolled in the study. The inclusion criterion was the presence of mild heart rhythm irregularities (i.e., premature beats; atrial fibrillation; mistriggering; or low heart rate, defined as 40 beats per minute or less) during the scan. All patients underwent MDCT with the following parameters: 16 detectors; collimation, 0.75 mm; gantry rotation time, 375 msec; 120 kV;…