Arshiya Ahsan- Radiology Section Senior Editor
A precise diagnosis is essential in detailing a treatment plan for all illnesses; this step is ever critical for patients presenting stable symptoms of coronary artery disease - the leading cause of death in America. Various imaging procedures [ex. Coronary CT angiography (CT), invasive coronary angiography (ICA), etc.] play a crucial role in producing an accurate diagnosis. Nonetheless, diagnostic cardiovascular imaging poses a significant threat: the resulting radiation exposure that puts one at a lifetime risk for developing cancer. To further scrutinize this topic, Chiong et al. evaluated the total doses of radiation accumulated in patients undergoing testing for angina from coronary artery disease after five years of standard care with or without CT. The results found that while the overall values for radiation exposure from cardiac imaging were not concerningly high, the standard care-only group had generally accrued a lower radiation dose as they had not undergone the CT process.
Cumulative radiation exposure from imaging procedures in the population serves as a substantial prospective hazard, as it increases the lifetime risk of acquiring cancer. While the radiation dose in cardiac CT has decreased over the last decade, there are still numerous potential strategies that promise to reduce radiation exposure obtained from cardiac radiology. For instance, “the use of prospective gating for CT, stress-only imaging for SPECT, and good operator technique at ICA” [1]. Ensuring continued innovation and research in the field of radiology, particularly in cardiac imaging, is of the utmost importance in ensuring quality care while reducing as many inherent risks as possible.
References:
Chiong, J., Ramkumar, P. G., Weir, N. W., Weir-McCall, J. R., Nania, A., Shaw, L. J., Einstein, A. J., Dweck, M. R., Mills, N. L., Newby, D. E., van Beek, E. J., Roditi, G., & Williams, M. C. (2023). Evaluating radiation exposure in patients with stable chest pain in the scot-heart trial. Radiology, 308(2). https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.221963
Edited By: Firas Batrash, Editor-in-Chief
