After the stress test, your cardiologist may or may not opt to have you undergo another type of CT test called a Calcium-score Screening Heart Scan.

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Each point in each slice of a CT scan is essentially a separate test, and the chance that a whole body CT scan is going to turn up something somewhere that looks funny is nearly 100%.

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To avoid that issue, Dr. Muller envisions the technology as part of a strategy in which people would first be identified as at risk through a genetic test and a noninvasive imaging test such as a CT scan before being referred for the spectroscopy analysis.

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It should be noted that if you are older, have a history of coronary disease and previously placed cardiac stents (high risk), the coronary CT angiogram would not be an appropriate test as a triage tool in the ER.

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One criticism of the coronary CT scan has been the radiation exposure associated with the test.

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The New England Journal study, involving 1, 400 adults over a 2.5 year period showed that the rate of heart attack 1 month after a negative coronary CT was less than 1 percent, showing that it is a safe test for patient discharge from the ER.

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In fact, while the low-risk patients might not receive any benefit from the test, there is at least some risk from radiation--which is higher for a CT angiogram than a traditional X-ray.

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