IMR Press / RCM / Volume 10 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.3909/ricm0450

Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine (RCM) is published by IMR Press from Volume 19 Issue 1 (2018). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with MedReviews, LLC.

Open Access Review
Integrated Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography in an Office-Based Cardiology Practice
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1 Cardiovascular Research Foundation of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Harbor-UCLA Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Torrance, CA
2021 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2009, 10(4), 194–201; https://doi.org/10.3909/ricm0450
Published: 30 December 2009
Abstract
Multidetector coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) visualizes coronary artery disease directly, thereby identifying atherosclerosis rather than ischemia. CCTA has the potential to be a useful, noninvasive gatekeeper for the identification of patients who are appropriate candidates for conventional coronary angiography and can also help determine the need for more aggressive risk modification, including cholesterol control. Integration of 64-slice CCTA scanning into a large, urban cardiology practice resulted in clearer stratification of patients into those with and without disease. Physicians used this information to improve lipid management while simultaneously reducing the use of other cardiac testing. The ability to assess cardiac calcium scoring was an additional advantage of integrating CCTA into the practice. Further reductions in the use of myocardial perfusion imaging may be expected as a result of the use of CCTA as the first test for the intermediate-risk patient.
Keywords
Cardiac calcium scoring
Coronary artery disease
Coronary computed tomographic angiography
Lipid management
Myocardial perfusion imaging
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