Increase in CCTA exams expected to mirror TAVR growth trend

A steady increase in the volume of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) exams is occurring, especially at mid- to high-level community hospitals across the country. In fact, a review 3DR Labs conducted in August showed a 44% increase in CCTA cases over 12 months.The growth began shortly after the American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association's (AHA) committee on clinical practice guidelines issued its Guideline for the Evaluation and Diagnosis of Chest Pain in October 2021. The guideline recommended CCTA as a first-line tool for both emergent and non-emergent evaluation of chest pain, and it worked to persuade third-party payors to cover it.In many ways, the growth in CCTA exams mirrors that seen with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures. With TAVR, there was an initial steady pick up as early adopters learned how to work up those cases. Then within a few years, that market exploded, producing a huge volume of cases. TAVR is now the method of choice for aortic valve replacement, and patients undergo the procedure unless it is contraindicated for some reason.Performing CCTA imagingCCTA is a complex exam. It is imperative that radiologic technologists obtain accurate data and the right bolus timing simultaneously. The test requires good patient cooperation because image acquisition is fast; if for some reason the patient is moving or not holding their breath, the scan quality can be significantly degraded. The radiologic technologist must also ob...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Subspecialties Cardiovascular Radiology Source Type: news