SAN DIEGO, March 14 (UPI) -- A new study finds CT scans are not better than other common tests done to evaluate heart health.
The study included over 10,000 participants from 193 health centers in the United States and Canada. The researchers found doing a treadmill test with a patient was just as good as a CT scan for evaluating heart health, and it doesn't involve radiation. A treadmill test typically costs about half as much as a CT scan, often $175, compared to a $400 CT scan. Nuclear imaging is more expensive than CT scans and also doesn't use radiation, but it too yields roughly the same level of accuracy.
"Until this study, we have essentially been guessing on decisions about which initial test to use for this huge population of patients who need evaluation for cardiovascular symptoms," said author Dr. Pamela S. Douglas. "Our study shows that the prognostic outcomes are excellent and are similar regardless of what type of test you use, but there are some indications that CTA might be the safer test with fewer catheterizations without obstructive disease and lower radiation exposure when compared to nuclear testing."
The study was published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
