CHICAGO--Cardiac CT programs at hospitals are safe and efficient and could save facilities an estimated $250 to $2,500 per patient. Physicians should take these types of programs into consideration when diagnosing acute chest pain, said Harold I. Lit, MD, PhD, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, during a presentation this morning at the 96th annual scientific meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

CHICAGO--Gadolinium-enhanced 64-slice coronary CT angiography (CCTA) could be an alternative to rule out coronary stenosis in patients with contraindications to iodine contrast, based on a study presented Nov. 28 at the 96th annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference.

Lowering the tube voltage to 100 kVp from the standard 120 kVp delivers diagnostic quality images, as well as one-third less radiation exposure, according to results from the PROTECTION II trial published in the November issue of JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.

The new ACCF/AHA guidelines for how to assess cardiovascular risk in asymptomatic adults for the first time have acknowledged the value of coronary artery calcium scoring and carotid artery intima-media thickness scanning by ultrasound. Members of the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE) endorse the new guidelines, but say they need to go further.

The medical community should develop a system of mandatory dissemination of radiation risk to patients before relevant government agencies or the legal system takes action, according to a commentary penned by Mark Otto Baerlocher, MD, from the University of Toronto, in a Nov. 17 commentary in the Journal of American Medical Association.

Vital Images, a developer of advanced visualization and image analysis software, has pulled into the black for the 2010 third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, compared with a net loss in the 2009 third quarter.

Recent studies have validated the prognostic nature of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring, on its own or in conjunction with the Framingham risk score. But, there is no current standardization of how CAC progression should be assessed and exactly what meaningful progression constitutes, according to a study in the Nov. 9 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Cardiac MR (CMR) can help determine the progression of mitral regurgitation (MR) in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP), according to a study published Oct. 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, while an editorial questioned the validity of the approach.