5/21/2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - A new generation CT scanner installed at Michigan State University is giving patients a quick, safe and easy-to-get picture of their coronary arteries, a procedure that lets them know if they could be candidates for heart disease.
The procedure - called cardiac scoring - takes a highly detailed picture of the arteries around a person's heart. These images allow a health care provider to see first-hand the amount of calcium build-up on those arteries, which is one of the earliest signs of heart disease.
Located at the MSU Radiology Center, the scanner is owned and operated by Mid-Michigan MRI Inc., a joint venture of MSU and Sparrow Hospital that provides state-of-the-art imaging services.
"This is the only non-invasive way to directly image a diseased coronary artery," said Kelly D. Ludema, assistant professor in the MSU Department of Radiology and CT section chief. "If you have calcium, your risk of coronary artery disease is higher. The more calcium you have, the greater the chances of having an obstruction."
The value of the CT scan, or computed tomography scan, is that its images provide a much more detailed look at the arteries, especially when compared to the standard method of imaging coronary arteries - the X-ray.
"The problem with an X-ray is you're getting a two-dimensional image representing a three-dimensional structure," Ludema said. "You just can't get the detailed measurements that you can with CT."
The other tried-and-true method of imaging the coronary arteries - the angiogram - is an invasive procedure that presents certain dangers as well. During an angiogram, a catheter is inserted into the body and then a dye is injected through the catheter.
MRI also can image the coronary arteries, but cannot see the calcium build-up.
"With CT it's quick, it's non-invasive and it does not induce claustrophobia," Ludema said. "You're on the table for maybe 10 minutes and soon you have a pretty good idea of what your cardiac score is."
Joel Eisenberg, an MSU cardiologist, is a firm believer in the value of cardiac scoring.
"Coronary disease is insidious," he said. "It's silent and in about half of all cases it kills without any warning at all. This is just one more tool the physician and patient have to help them in clinical decision-making."
"The image produced by the CT scan is superior to anything else we currently have in our arsenal," said E. James Potchen, chairperson of the MSU Department of Radiology. "This technology will help tremendously in out fight against heart disease."
"We are very pleased to be able to offer this potentially life-saving service to the people of mid-Michigan," said Jerome Cordes, chairperson of Sparrow Hospital's Department of Radiology. "Cardiac scoring can be of significant benefit to many mid-Michigan residents and their physicians."
In addition to the CT scan, patients also undergo a blood test. This will provide information on other risk factors the patient may have, including high cholesterol levels and diabetes.
Men who are over 40 and women over 50 who have a family history of heart disease are good candidates for cardiac scoring, Ludema said. It is not necessarily for people who are showing symptoms of heart disease.
"For example, if you're having chest pains, you probably need medical treatment immediately," Ludema said. "Also, if a smoker were screened it would most likely show a higher coronary artery calcium score than a non-smoker."
Because of the highly detailed images, CT scans are valuable in a number of other ways as well, including the imaging of the abdomen, chest and pelvis, as well as orthopedic imaging.