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.
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).
Medicare beneficiaries who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in a nonacute setting were more likely to undergo subsequent invasive cardiac procedures and have higher coronary artery disease spending than patients who underwent stress testing, according to a study published in the Nov. 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Written by Douglas Page
The final diagnostic form the evolving hybrid PET/MR tree will take is uncertain, but it has already begun to blossom. Thus, the low-hanging clinical fruit has lured a number of medical centers to early adoption. Experts weigh in on the potential that PET/MR may hold for various neurologic, oncologic and cardiovascular conditions.
A study published in the Sept. 27 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that, in emergency department (ED) patients experiencing low-risk, acute chest pain, the use of early coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) is a more rapid and cost-efficient test than rest-stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). An editorial in the same issue of the journal, while acknowledging the study’s conclusions in some cases, stressed that there are many factors that could make other tests besides CCTA more beneficial.
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—Incorporating coronary artery calcium screening (CAC) into practice can change the diagnoses and management of coronary artery disease (CAD), however, it may still be too early to tell how it will impact patient outcomes, Tim M. Bateman, MD, co-director of cardiovascular radiologic imaging at Mid America Heart Institute, Saint Luke's Health System in Kansas City, said during a presentation Sept. 11 at the 16th annual American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) scientific session.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
DENVER—When performing nuclear imaging studies, it is important to balance benefits against potential risks, however, it is most imperative to ensure that only appropriate patients are being imaged, George A. Beller, MD, a cardiologist at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, said during a presentation Sept. 10 at the 16th annual American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) scientific session.
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.
In addition to avoiding exposure to ionizing radiation, stress cardiac MR (CMR) myocardial perfusion imaging is an effective and robust risk-stratifying tool for patients of either sex presenting with possible ischemia, according to a study in the August issue of JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 7 | 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Ballroom C2
Flurpiridaz F 18 injection, a myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) PET agent, appears to be safe and superior to SPECT with respect to image quality, diagnostic certainty and sensitivity for detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a Phase II late-breaking clinical trial presented May 17 at the International Conference of Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Imaging (ICNC) in Amsterdam.
Cardiac CT offers physicians strong predictions of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in ED patients presenting with chest pain, supplementing clinical risk scores and offering a two-year MACE-free warranty period in the absence of coronary artery disease (CAD), according to the two-year outcomes of the ROMICAT study published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
In clinical cardiac Rubidium-82 PET studies, globally impaired flow reserve is a relevant marker for predicting short-term cardiovascular events, and it may be used for integration with currently established functional and morphologic test results and for guidance of preventive measures, especially in the absence of regional flow-limiting disease, according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
On top of the shifting climate of healthcare delivery, radiologists have remained some of the least involved providers in the transition to accountable care organizations (ACOs), a move that could pose important risks to radiologists and the specialty as a whole, argued the authors of a May 2 article in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Although coronary CT angiography (CTA) can be employed to stratify risk and expedite the work-up of chest pain patients, its utilization dropped in 2008, and the exam may be severely underutilized, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. The authors reported that SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging was used 44 times as often as coronary CTA.
Written by James Brice
Small studies assessing the efficacy of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) to diagnose or rule out coronary artery disease (CAD) have been the staple reference standard for its adoption. But a new era of comparative-effectiveness research is unfolding as CCTA will be tested against other validated cardiac imaging modalities, in particular, SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI).
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