How is Coronary CTA different from other heart tests?
One of the most common heart tests is the coronary angiogram, or cardiac catheterization. This test is more invasive and requires more patient recovery time than Coronary CTA. Patients who receive coronary angiograms must have a catheter, or small transport tube, threaded into their coronary arteries, which run along the outside of the heart. The catheter typically is inserted into a blood vessel in the upper thigh and then maneuvered up to the coronary arteries. The catheter then is used to inject the iodine dye needed for the test, which uses X-rays to record “movies” of interior of the coronary arteries. Although Coronary CTA examinations are growing in use, coronary angiograms remain the “gold standard” for detecting coronary artery stenosis, which is a significant narrowing of an artery that could require catheter-based intervention (such as stenting) or surgery (such as bypassing). On the other hand, this new technology has consistently shown the ability to rule out significant n
