Contrast Agents In Echocardiogram May Not Increase Risks
There have long been concerns about the contrast agents used in echocardiogram imaging. An expert medical panel
recently urged that studies be undertaken to reduce the risks associated with using these agents for this type of imaging. However, one
new study says that there is no difference in the risk to echocardiogram patients who are tested with these contrasting agents as compared to those who are not.
"The researchers evaluated the adverse events of patients who had undergone stress echocardiography with contrast versus events in a noncontrast cohort."
The results of this study showed that there were no additional adverse effects when the contrasting agents were used in comparison to with the test subjects where the echocardiogram was completed without the use of these contrasting agents. This is one indication that the seriousness of the risk of contrasting agents that was presumed to be true in the past may actually be false.
Question of the Day: Does the use of contrasting agents in echocardiogram imaging increase the risks of the procedure in any way?photo link
