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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffA computerized tomography (CT) angiogram is an imaging test for various types of heart disease. Unlike a traditional coronary angiogram, CT angiograms don't use a catheter threaded through your veins to your heart. Instead, a CT angiogram relies on a powerful X-ray machine to produce images of your heart and heart vessels. CT angiograms require less recovery time than traditional angiograms. CT angiograms are becoming an increasingly popular option for people who have a moderate risk of blocked or narrowed arteries.
CT angiograms carry some risk of radiation exposure, and if you have coronary artery disease, a traditional coronary angiogram may be a better option, since you can also receive treatment for your artery blockages during a traditional coronary angiogram.
- Cardiac CT. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ct/ct_all.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Gerber TC, et al. Noninvasive coronary angiography with cardiac computed tomography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Bluemke DA, et al. Noninvasive coronary artery imaging: Magnetic resonance angiography and multidetector computed tomography angiography: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Committee on Cardiovascular Imaging and Intervention of the Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention, and the Councils on Clinical Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disease in the Young. Circulation. 2008;118:586.
- Gerber TC, et al. Ionizing radiation in cardiac imaging: A science advisory from the American Heart Association Committee on Cardiac Imaging of the Council on Clinical Cardiology and Committee on Cardiovascular Imaging and Intervention of the Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention. Circulation. 2009;119:1056.
- Control your risk factors. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=581. Accessed Dec. 2, 2008.
