Critical shortages of imaging equipment and qualified radiologists left an estimated 56,000 angina patients without access to potentially lifesaving computed tomography (CT) scans last year, the Royal College of Radiologists and British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging announced Nov. 8.

Last year, more than 56,000 angina patients across the U.K. were denied life-saving CT heart scans due to the continuing shortage of radiologists and scanners, according to data released Nov. 8 by the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) and the British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging (BSCI), published in The BMJ.

Boston Scientific announced clinical outcomes from the IMPERIAL Long Lesion Sub-study demonstrating that the Eluvia Drug-Eluting Vascular Stent System is safe and effective in treating patients with long, complex, calcified lesions within the superficial femoral and proximal popliteal arteries.

Nuclear medicine clinics could be operating at 25 percent capacity or less by the end of the week due to a shortage of Technetium-99m, said one hospital leader.

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring could be the key to determining which patients are most likely to benefit from statin therapy, according to a retrospective analysis published Nov. 5 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Automated cardiac valve tracking halved the analysis time and variability in blood-flow quantification with four-dimensional (4D) flow MRI, researchers reported in Radiology. The algorithm may help clinicians more efficiently assess the severity of congenital and valvular heart disease, they said.

Researchers from the Netherlands demonstrated, in a study published Oct. 30 in Radiology, that four-dimensional (4D) flow MRI with automated cardiac valve tracking reduces analysis time and improves reliability of valvular flow quantification compared to manual valve tracking in patients with congenital heart disease.

An augmented reality (AR) technique involving 3D visualization of myocardial scar can assist physicians in evaluating and treating cardiac damage during electrophysiological interventions like ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation, researchers reported in PLOS One.