Although post-imaging use of cardiac catheterization and medical therapy increased in proportion to the degree of abnormality findings, noninvasive testing had only a modest impact on clinical management of patients referred for clinical testing, according to the SPARC trial published in the Jan. 31 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Allowing physicians to choose a stress test modality for lower-risk patients presenting at an emergency department with chest pain was more cost-effective than mandating a cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) stress test, according to a study published online Nov. 29 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. In an observation unit (OU), provider choice care resulted in similar results as CMR-mandated care, with a lower price tag.
CHICAGO—Due to changes in CPT coding and fee schedules that have reduced reimbursement for stress tests and coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in the 2009 through 2011 Medicare fee schedules, triage strategies that begin with stress EKG or stress echocardiography and progress to CCTA (if the stress test is positive) represent the least expensive options, and are more cost-effective relative to strategies that utilize myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, according to a study presented Nov. 30 at the 97th annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
CHICAGO--With atherosclerosis-related diseases estimated to cost more than $500 billion in the U.S. in 2010, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease are critical priorities. Existing and emerging imaging tools show great promise in helping the diagnosis of atherosclerosis, said Zahi A. Fayad, PhD, professor of radiology and cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, during the opening session panel at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) on Nov. 27.
Dalcetrapib (Roche) modulates cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity; however, the dal-PLAQUE study published online Sept. 12 in the Lancet, showed no evidence of a pathological effect related to the arterial wall over 24 months duration. While the trial found that dalcetrapib may have long standing vascular effects, including a reduction in vessel enlargement over 24 months, researchers said that more data are necessary to understand the long-term safety of the molecule.
DENVER—In the current era of nuclear stress testing, a major debate is whether pharmalogical stress testing is comparable with exercise testing. During a presentation Sept. 11 at the 16th annual American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) scientific sessions, Brian G. Abbott, MD, medical director of nuclear cardiology at the Rhode Island Cardiology Center in Providence, R.I., said yes, particularly for diagnosing coronary artery disease.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
DENVER—With the “explosive growth” of cardiovascular imaging, the focus must now center on improving quality and reducing radiation exposure, and appropriate use criteria (AUC) can help, Robert C. Hendel, MD, director of cardiac imaging and outpatient services at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, said during a presentation Sept. 10 at the 16th annual American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) scientific sessions.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
DENVER—Myocardial perfusion SPECT should be limited to women with indeterminate or abnormal test results, Leslee J. Shaw, PhD, co-director of the clinical cardiovascular research institute at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, said during a presentation Sept. 11 at the 16th annual American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) scientific session. However, as Shaw reported the results of the WOMEN trial, she concluded that in the future, more of an emphasis should be placed on guiding and evaluating patients via the accepted best practice.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
DENVER—Coronary CT Angiography (CCTA) is not indicated for use in atrial fibrillation (AF) patents due to the problems it causes in terms of diagnostic accuracy, Thomas C. Gerber, MD, PhD, of the division of cardiovascular diseases at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla., said during a presentation Sept. 10 at the annual scientific sessions of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC). However, cardiac CT may be beneficial in some instances for this patient population when the right methods are used.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
DENVER—“Anatomy or ischemia: Will either one of these add to better outcomes?” asked James E. Udelson, MD, chief of the division of cardiology and director of nuclear cardiology laboratory at the Tufts Medical Center in Boston, during a presentation Sept. 9 at this year's American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) scientific sessions.
DENVER—As important players within the medical community work to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from medical imaging, integrating protocols and strategies, such as shielding, can help reduce dose, James A. Case, PhD, of Cardiovascular Imaging Technologies in Kansas City, said during a presentation Sept. 9 at the 16th annual American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) meeting.
Siemens Healthcare sponsored a series of symposia and showcased its most recent CT scanner and image interpretation software at this year’s meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular CT (SCCT) in Denver, July 14-17.
High-pitch, dual-source CT scanners may enable physicians to sustain diagnostic accuracy while allowing up to seven-fold reductions in pediatric radiation dose, according to a study presented this weekend at the Society of Cardiovascular CT (SCCT) in Denver.
Health IT company TeraRecon showed iNtuition advanced visualization and cloud products at this year’s scientific meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) in Denver, July 14-17.
Noninvasive cardiovascular (CV) imaging showed no benefit of improving primary prevention measures for patients; however, the authors wrote that future studies will be necessary to provide hard evidence on how these imaging tests impact prevention efforts, according to a meta-analysis published June 13 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
GE Healthcare and Rapidscan Pharma Solutions have introduced regadenoson, marketed as Rapiscan, to facilitate myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) to diagnose coronary artery disease for patients unable to exercise.
Despite the fact that appropriate use criteria have been developed to help guide myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), women remain undertested. A study published this week in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology showed that the vast majority of inappropriate MPI studies were ordered in women by primary care physicians, alluding to the fact that more education for physicians will be crucial.
Specialty pharmaceutical company Acusphere has reached an agreement with the FDA on a Special Protocol Assessment clinical trial to assess the ability of the company’s Imagify drug to detect coronary artery disease (CAD) on stress ultrasound.
Biotech company ImaginAb has locked a research deal with GE Healthcare to develop PET diagnostic imaging agents for cardiovascular disease, the companies said on June 5.
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