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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffA coronary 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 could explain chest pain or could put you at risk of a heart attack.
Coronary CT angiograms are sometimes used in place of traditional coronary angiograms to check for coronary artery disease. A CT angiogram may be better than a traditional angiogram for people who have only a moderate risk of coronary artery disease.
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 near your heart, if blockages are found, your doctor can perform a procedure called angioplasty to open your blockages after 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.
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- 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.
- Risk factors and coronary heart disease. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4726. Accessed March 9, 2011.
- Achenbach S, et al. Is CT the better angiogram? Coronary interventions and CT imaging. Journal of the American College of Cardiology Cardiovascular Imaging. 2010;3:29.
- Taylor AJ, et al. ACCF/SCCT/ACR/AHA/ASE/ASNC/NASCI/SCAI/SCMR 2010 appropriate use criteria for cardiac computed tomography: A report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Appropriate Use Criteria Task Force, the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, the American College of Radiology, the American Heart Association, the American Society of Echocardiography, the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, the North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. Circulation. 2010;122:525.
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