2012.06.13 - Press release

Gentle method of diagnosing heart disease

Study: Computer tomography is extremely dependable

Three-dimensional imaging of the functional analysis of the left heart chamber with the CT (colored blue), as well as the heart's maximal filling phase (left) and maximal contraction phase in a patient with a normally functioning heart.

Computer tomographic images deliver dependable data to analyze the heart’s global pump function. This was shown in a study conducted by radiologists and cardiologists at Charité – Universitätsmedizin in cooperation with the Jena University Hospital. The research results are published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology*.

In the study, radiologist Privatdozent Dr. Marc Dewey and his work group included every image-producing method available to examine heart function: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a reference standard; 2-D and 3-D echocardiography; coronary catheterization; and computer tomography (CT). With CT, a three-dimensional image was put together using non-invasive x-rays taken from a number of perspectives. The CT resulted in the most dependable data in estimating global pump functions. To detect regional apraxia, computer tomography was just as effective as the other methods in comparison to the MRI.

Furthermore, modern computer tomography enables significantly improved visualization of constricted coronary blood vessels with reduced radiation exposure. “The possibility to evaluate the heart comprehensively and dependably with the CT holds enormous potential,” emphasizes Johannes Greupner from the Institute of Radiology at the Charité Campus Mitte. In cases of specific pain in the chest area, computer tomography can thus become an appropriate non-invasive image-producing procedure. In contrast to the MRI, the CT can also be used on patients with pacemakers without problem.

* Greupner J, Zimmermann E, Grohmann A, Dübel HP, Althoff T, Borges AC, Rutsch W, Schlattmann P, Hamm B, Dewey M.: Head-to-Head Comparison of Left Ventricular Function Assessment with 64-Row Computed Tomography, Biplane Left Cineventriculography, and Both Two- and Three-Dimensional Transthoracic Echocardiography: Comparison with Magnetic Resonance Imaging as the Reference Standard. In: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Volume 59, Issue 21, 22 May 2012, 1897-1907, DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2012.01.046