The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) has released guidelines detailing standards of practice for coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in patients presenting to emergency departments with acute chest pain.
The new guidance standardizes care for these patients, the SCCT said.
"We've finally passed the inflection point where coronary CTA can be considered the new 'standard of care' for acute chest pain triage in patients with low-to-intermediate risk for acute coronary syndrome," said Dr. Christopher Maroules, lead author of the guidelines.
The guidelines were published September 28 in the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, and they are endorsed by the ACR and the North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging.
![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
