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64 Slice and Heart Disease
November 10, 2008 |
Every 34 seconds a person in America dies from heart disease.
Dr. Richard Davis is a cardiologist who sees patients who are dealing with the disease
every day. “Unfortunately as a cardiologist I see patients who already have advanced
disease. Certainly it would be of value to the family practitioner, the general
physician to address preventative measures much earlier in life.”
Now heart disease prevention and early detection are more possible than ever in
Southwest Florida. This thanks to some revolutionary technology. Dr. Jeffery Sonn
is a radiologist at HealthPark Medical Center who is happy to have this new equipment.
“ It’s just exciting because it’s new technology, it’s giving images that we haven’t
seen before, studies we haven’t done before; it’s really going to help patients,”
he says.
The technology is called the Coronary Computed Tomography Angiogram or the CCTA.
It is a scanning system that is so quick it can gather images of the heart in between
heart beats. Dr. Sonn says, “The images and the amount of data we can acquire is
much faster than before because we have more detectors. We’re able to see coronary
arteries in a 3-D or global type of view where we can see the wall, the loom in
what type of calcification, what type of plaque.”
The CCTA is less expensive and much less invasive than traditional cardiac catheterization.
It can also detect heart problems sooner and can be more convenient for patients.
“You’re basically getting a C-T scan. So you lay there we inject contrast the scan
goes through the heart so we’re able to have a very good detail of the coronary
arteries. It’s really the only tool that we have now for early detection of coronary
artery disease,” says Dr. Sonn.
The CCTA has been used at HealthPark for the past few months. It’s expected to change
the way physicians are able to treat patients with suspected heart disease or chest
pain. A CCTA scan is most useful for patients who may have atypical chest pain or
other in determinant symptoms that could be related to the coronary arteries.
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