A new kind of CT scan ca predict heart attack early. © Shutterstock
A new technology apparently can do this for you. In fact, a new technology used for analysing the CT scans can be used to predict heart attacks well in advance. This technology was developed by experts at the Oxford University in Germany and US. The technology uses algorithms to examine the fat surrounding the coronary arteries as it shows up on the CT scan of the heart. That fat gets altered when an artery becomes inflamed; this serves as an indicator of a heart attack. One of the researchers believes that this inflammation can indicate and predict up to 30 per cent of heart attacks way before time.
If you are able to identify inflammation in the arteries of the heart then you can say which arteries will cause heart attack later reportedly said Oxford Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Charalambos Antoniades. This simple technique helps to predict heart diseases just by looking at the CT scan. Most heart attacks are caused by a build-up of plaque a fatty deposit inside the artery, which interrupts the flow. Currently, CT scans are able to show a narrowed artery but with the new technology, it might be easier to detect which of the arteries are narrowing. The researchers are waiting to gain approval of the technology from concerned authorities.
Once the arteries become inflamed the thickening starts after five years. So if a CT scan can point out the arteries that are getting inflamed it is probably possible to take corrective measures to avert consequences. Heart attack and stroke are two causes of mortality that needs to be controlled globally. Both happen due to narrowing of the arteries when plaque deposits restrict blood flow. Researchers believe that if this scan gets approved it could be a wonderful preventive technique. However, they aren t sure how many hearts attacks this technique can predict rightly but the lead researcher believes that around 20 to 30 per cent of heart attacks can be predicted before it happens. The research was published in journal Lancet.
