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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffA CT angiogram is a test that can check your heart for various conditions, but it's primarily used to check for narrowed arteries in your heart (coronary artery disease) that can put you at risk of a heart attack.
CT angiograms are sometimes used in place of traditional coronary angiograms to check for coronary artery disease. People who have a moderate risk of coronary artery disease may choose a CT angiogram instead of a traditional angiogram.
Typically, when your doctor needs to check for blockages in your heart's arteries, he or she will perform a coronary angiogram. In a coronary angiogram, a catheter is inserted in an artery in your groin and threaded through your blood vessels to your heart. Dye that's visible on X-rays is then injected through the catheter, and X-ray images of your heart are taken. Your doctor can see blockages in your heart's arteries on the images. Because the catheter is in place in your heart, if blockages are found, your doctor can perform a procedure called angioplasty to open your blockages during a traditional angiogram.
In a CT angiogram, no catheter has to be placed in your groin, and the dye that's visible on the CT scan is injected through an intravenous (IV) line that's placed in your hand or arm. X-ray images are still taken of your heart. However, because no catheter is used, if a blockage in your heart's arteries is found, you'll need a separate procedure (a traditional coronary angiogram) to treat your condition.
A test that's similar to CT angiogram is a coronary calcium scan. This test uses a special type of computerized tomography to check for calcium in your coronary arteries, which can be a risk factor for coronary artery disease. No dye is injected during a coronary calcium scan.
- Cardiac CT. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ct/ct_all.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Gerber TC, et al. Noninvasive coronary angiography with cardiac computed tomography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Bluemke DA, et al. Noninvasive coronary artery imaging: Magnetic resonance angiography and multidetector computed tomography angiography: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Committee on Cardiovascular Imaging and Intervention of the Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention, and the Councils on Clinical Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disease in the Young. Circulation. 2008;118:586.
- Gerber TC, et al. Ionizing radiation in cardiac imaging: A science advisory from the American Heart Association Committee on Cardiac Imaging of the Council on Clinical Cardiology and Committee on Cardiovascular Imaging and Intervention of the Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention. Circulation. 2009;119:1056.
- Control your risk factors. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=581. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
