Harold Litt, MD, explains the use of cardiac CT as a primary imaging exam for chest pain at his emergency department over the past decade.

Harold Litt, MD, division chief of cardiothoracic imaging and director of the Center for Advanced CT Imaging Sciences at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, explains the role of cardiac CT in EP procedures.

The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography developed and published the new document to help educate healthcare providers who regularly treat acute chest pain in the emergency department. 

As the population of patients with adult congenital heart disease grows, they are presenting to adult cardiology clinics and being imaged with CT. Many also do not have access or cannot be imaged by MRI, said Renee Bullock-Palmer, MD.

The statement was written to fill gaps in recommendations from prior consensus statements and guidelines in regards to the use of CCT in cardio-oncology, including use of calcium scoring and ruling out coronary disease when cardiac function is impaired.

Dozens of medical societies have signed a new letter urging Congress to stop upcoming Medicare payment cuts. “The Medicare payment system remains on an unsustainable path threatening beneficiaries’ access to physicians," they wrote. 

Joao Cavalcante, MD, director, cardiac MRI and structural CT labs, Minneapolis Heart Institute, discusses the use of cardiac CT imaging to plan and guide structural heart procedures. 

Erin D. Michos, MD, co-editor in chief of the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, discusses gender differences in heart disease presentations.