No benefit of heart CT scan in patients with acute chest pain, trial finds
A clinical trial involving over 3,000 patients found that coronary CT angiography scans do not reduce the risk of heart attacks or cardiac death in patients already cleared of heart attacks. Researchers suggest these findings could help reduce the burden on hospital radiology departments and lower healthcare costs.
Why it matters
This study challenges standard diagnostic practices, potentially changing clinical guidelines to avoid unnecessary testing and resource allocation in emergency departments.
edited by Gaby Clark , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Coronary CT angiography (CTCA) scans do not reduce the risk of heart attacks or cardiac death over three years in patients with acute chest pain whose heart attacks have been excluded, according to the results of a trial presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich.
The Troponin in Acute Chest Pain to Risk Stratify and Guide EffecTive Use of Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography (TARGET-CTCA) trial involved 3,170 people with acute chest pain who had a heart attack ruled out in the emergency department.
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