What Is Cardiac CT?
Cardiac computed tomography (to-MOG-rah-fee), or cardiac CT, is a painless test that uses an x-ray machine to take clear, detailed pictures of the heart. This common test is used to look for problems in the heart. During a cardiac CT scan, an x-ray machine will move around your body in a circle. The machine will take a picture of each part of your heart. A computer will put the pictures together to make a three-dimensional (3D) picture of the whole heart. Sometimes an iodine-based dye (contrast dye) is injected into one of your veins during the scan. The contrast dye travels through your blood vessels, which helps highlight them on the x-ray pictures. Because an x-ray machine is used, cardiac CT involves radiation. Although the amount of radiation used is considered small, it’s similar to the amount of radiation you’re naturally exposed to over a 3-year period. There’s a small chance that cardiac CT will cause cancer because of the radiation involved. The risk is higher for people youn
