BOSTON -- There's a new tool in cardiac care -- a powerful scanning machine that can take crystal clear images of the smallest vessels in the heart in about one-third of one second.
NewsCenter 5's Rhonda Mann reported Tuesday that the machine allows doctors to see the plaque that causes the blockage before the blockage happens.
A cardiac stress test showed Nathan, a physicist, had suspected heart disease. In a few minutes, he'll "see" firsthand the extent of the problem.
"I'm a scientist. I wanted to know what the real situation is," he said.
The Somatom Sensation 64 is a new scanner that can take 64 pictures of the heart with each beat, slicing through it to capture a detailed computer image.
"The heart traditionally is the hardest to image because it constantly moves inside of the chest which requires a very fast shutter speed to effectively freeze the motion of the heart," Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Suhny Abbara said.
Patients are injected with a dye solution and then hold their breath three times for about 10 seconds each. It's a faster and less invasive test than the traditional cardiac catheterization, where a catheter is threaded through the groin or arm up into the heart.
The scanner will be particularly helpful for those who have atypical chest pain when blood work and other routine cardiac tests show no sign of heart trouble.
It also can help determine if those with risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol or family history should take medications -- the so-called statins -- to prevent a heart attack.
The test showed that Nathan has a number of plaques, but blood is still flowing freely. He'll take a statin and a daily aspirin. He'll also renew his effort to eat well and exercise.
"If I can get them to run a tight ship because they know they have the disease, we can prevent heart attacks, we can prevent stokes and can prevent sudden death," Massachusetts General Hospital's Dr. Adolph Hutter Jr. said.
The $600 test is being covered by insurance under most circumstances. In addition to Mass General, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center also have a 64-slice heart scan machine.
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Rhonda Mann Reports On Scan
