Heart Scan Mix-Up: What You Need to Know

The New York Times article otherwise does a credible job of exposing an unhealthy trend in medicine: the leap to new technology just because of “newness,” even before clinical experience develops that proves genuine superiority. This eagerness to embrace new for its own sake is a substantial part of the reason why healthcare costs continue to escalate.

But, despite their otherwise well-written description, the article failed in one critical aspect: They failed to distinguish two very different tests, criticizing one test with the shortcomings of another. Don’t you fail to make the distinction.

In my view, if you desire an easy means of screening for the hidden coronary plaque that leads to heart attack, that’s what simple CT heart scans provide─with low-radiation exposure. But if your doctor requires greater information, such as that which can lead to stents and bypass surgery, then a CT coronary angiogram is just one emerging choice, though one that comes with significant radiation exposure in 2008.  

Want to know more? Read:

Heart Disease: The Detection Gap

Carotid Ultrasound: A Test for Heart Disease?

Looking for Answers to Heart Disease in All the Wrong Places

Beyond Convention: 5 Heart Disease Tips That Could Save Your Life