Sreemoyee Chatterjee
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Written By: Sreemoyee Chatterjee | Published : August 27, 2018 1:31 PM IST
Did you know that garlic can be beneficial for your heart if you include it in your diet? © Shutterstock
While heart related ailments are the major killer claiming highest number of lives in the country, heart scans are becoming a saviour these days. A new study shows that heart scans for patients experiencing chest pains can act wonders in reducing attack rates, thereby saving thousands of lives. It reveals that these life-saving scans can detect people with heart disease following which the appropriate treatment can be initiated at the right time to prevent possibilities of a heart attack. These scans should be included into routine care and accordingly current guidelines for diagnosis and treatment should be updated, suggest the researchers.
Over 4,000 patients referred to a clinic in the past with symptoms of angina, a condition that develops due to limited flow of blood to the heart, have been studied and were made to undergo a scan called computed tomography angiogram (CTA) in addition to other standard screenings. The study has found that the number of those suffering from a heart attack decreased by 40% in the next five years after the patients received the scan report and acted on it. The study also highlighted that including CTA as a part of routine care would help patients avoid costly tests and other heart surgeries.
Unlike angiograms, CTA scans can screen the blood vessels from outside the body without having to insert tubes into the heart. Also, these scans are more cost-effective and safer than angiograms, say doctors. According to the researchers, this is the first study that has thrown light on how scans can impact long-term survival rates among patients with heart-related ailments and those at higher risk for heart attacks.
Professor David Newby at the BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science in the University of Edinburgh, and lead researcher of the study reportedly said, This relatively simple heart scan ensures that patients get the right treatment. This is the first time that CT guided management has been shown to improve patient outcomes with a major reduction in the future risk of heart attacks. This has major implications for how we now investigate and manage patients with suspected heart disease.
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