A new way of looking at CT scans could help prevent heart attacks years later
Algorithms are used to examine fat around coronary arteries as it shows up on CT heart scans — that fat gets altered when an artery becomes inflamed
Oxford — A new method of analysing images from computed tomography (CT) scans can predict which patients are at risk of a heart attack years before it occurs, researchers say. The technology, developed by teams at Oxford University and institutions in Germany and the US, uses algorithms to examine the fat surrounding coronary arteries as it shows up on computed tomography (CT) heart scans. That fat gets altered when an artery becomes inflamed, serving as an early-warning system for what one of the researchers believes could be up 30% of heart attacks. "If you are able to identify inflammation in the arteries of the heart then you can say which arteries ... will cause heart attacks," Oxford professor of cardiovascular medicine, Charalambos Antoniades, said. "With the new technology that we have we can achieve this by analysing simple CT scans." Most heart attacks are caused by a build-up of plaque — a fatty deposit — inside the artery, which interrupts the flow of blood. Currently, C...
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