Heart disease is a major cause of death. It concerns a great number of people. As a result, many people regularly get check-ups for their heart. No one wants their ticker to stop ticking. But to get the heart checked out isn't an easy procedure. Searching for blockages can be invasive and expensive. New technology may be making preventive healing of the heart a much easier procedure.
Angioplasty.org reports that Johns Hopkins medical researchers have concluded that the 64-slice CT heart scan is as effective as more invasive procedures at finding blockages in the heart. It can also scan for blockages in the arteries surrounding the heart. This makes it a terrific tool for identifying heart problems before they become disastrous and allowing for preventive measures to improve overall health.
The new 64-slice CT scan offers vast improvement over the old 16-slice version. The old technology was only as accurate as invasive catheterization testing twenty to thirty percent of the time. The new technology is accurate ninety percent of the time.
Patients who undergo the heart scan may find that they need other proceudres such as coronary bypass surgery. Revealing such matters in advance can be a life-saving technique. And for those people whose heart scans reveal that they don't need any other work done, the peace of mind that comes along with the news is invaluable.
