What is the difference between conventional and CT coronary angiography?

CT coronary angiography is the process of looking at a CAT scan of the coronary arteries while the heart is moving. Learn more from Mark Lampert, MD, about CT coronary angiography.

Transcript

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CT angiography is specifically for looking at a CAT scan of the coronary arteries

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while the heart is moving. [MUSIC PLAYING]

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What is the difference between conventional CT and CT coronary angiography? CT, or CAT scanning, has been around since the mid-1970s.

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This was our first X-ray technique to be able to see in great detail tomographic or slice

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views of the inside of the body, essentially. The problem is that there are two organs that

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move in the body-- the heart and the lungs. And for most patients, lung interference can be eliminated by having the patient take a breath

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during the picture-taking. The heart moves. And in order to get a picture of the heart

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while freezing the action in place that we have a nice, clear, and unblurred image,

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we have to tag the motion of the heart to our picture-taking. And the pictures have to be taken in a very rapid speed,

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just like a camera that would have a rapid shutter speed. And so CT angiography is specifically

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for looking at a CAT scan of the coronary arteries while the heart is moving. It is a technique that's been around for a number of years.

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And it's growing in popularity. And it's an alternative for many patients to those who would go in invasive angiography.

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But it's not applicable to all patients. If this is something that you're considering, I would discuss with your doctors

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if you're a candidate for it or not. [AUDIO LOGO]