What is Heart Attack?
Heart gets nutrients for its muscles through a set of blood vessels called coronary arteries. Reduced blood supply to the heart muscles result in damage of the muscle
and is known as heart attack / myocardial ischemia. The severity of the myocardial ischemia depends on the severity of the block in the coronary vessel
What causes these blocks in Coronary Arteries?
The commonest cause of narrowing of coronary vessels is due to the deposition of fat in the vessel wall. Fat deposition in the coronary arteries is a natural process and
starts at an early age, the progression and severity varies from person to person. Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the most common cause of sudden death. First symptom of
heart attack comes when the deposits in coronary vessels obstruct the blood flow by more than 70%.
Why early detection of Coronary Artery Disease is Important?
Early detection is the “Mantra” for preventing heart attack. Proper treatment at an early stage will stop the progress of the disease & also can reverse
the fat deposits.
How can we detect it?
The diagnosis of CAD is done by
1. Invasive catheter angiography
2. Non-invasive CT angiography
What is Invasive Catheter Angiography?
A tube will be inserted inside your body through a puncture in your leg artery. Serial X-ray pictures are taken after injecting iodine containing medicine into your heart vessels. The X-ray pictures can tell the status of the coronary vessels. This procedure is painful and requires admission.
Does non-invasive CT Angiography give the same results as that of catheter coronary Angiogram?
Non-invasive CT Angiography has 99% negative predictive value. Also, it has a very high specificity about the type of atherosclerotic plaques (deposits) and can differentiate them into calcified, soft and mixed types, which is not possible with catheter angiogram.
Who should get their Coronary CT Angiography test done?
Persons with any of these risk factors
- High blood pressure more than 130/90 mm of Hg.
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol
- Family history of heart disease
- Smoking
- Sedentary life style
- Obesity
- Post Exertional chest pain or breathlessness
How I prepare for my scan?
1. No food for at least 2-3 hours; Avoid coffee/smoking.
2. Take plenty of fluids.
3. Take all regular medicines, if any.
4. Bring all your previous medical records, especially your kidney function test.
5. Please come with an attendant.
How long does it takes for coronary CT angiography?
The actual scan takes less than 5 seconds. But, you need to be prepared for the scan, which takes 30 minutes to 1 hour.
How Coronary CT Angiography is done?
As explained earlier CT Angiography is a totally non-invasive painless procedure. You lie flat on
the CT table and an intravenous line will be inserted in to one of your arm veins. If your chest is hairy we need to shave over a little area of the chest, to fix the ECG leads. You will be given a tablet if necessary, to control your heart rate. You will be instructed to hold breath during scan. Your scan is done by CT equipment along with ECG gating. During the scan non-ionic contrast medicine will be injected through the arm vein, which may give you a slight warm sensation.
What care should I take after the scan?
No post scan care is recommended. You can return to your normal activities and consume food soon after the procedure.
