NEW ORLEANS - Siemens Medical Solutions of Malvern, PA is highlighting a new method for using multislice CT in connection with other risk factors to predict the likelihood that a patient will have a future cardiac event. The company is demonstrating the technique at this week's American College of Cardiology meeting.
The technique was developed at the Institute of Arteriosclerosis Research in Muenster, Germany, and combines a cardiac multislice CT exam with the Prospective Cardiovascular Muenster (PROCAM) calculator. The PROCAM calculator creates a score based on the various factors that contribute to heart attack risk, including age, gender, blood lipids, high blood pressure, family history, smoking, and diabetes. This score can then be used to recommend lifestyle changes and LDL cholesterol treatment to reduce the risk of a future cardiac event.
The German group uses the PROCAM score to divide patients into three risk groups. Those in the high and intermediate risk groups also receive a scan on a Siemens multislice CT scanner of the coronary arteries to measure their atherosclerotic plaque burden. If patients in the intermediate group have scores above the 75th percentile, they may be sent on for more aggressive treatment. Follow-up scans can also be conducted with multislice CT.
Siemens is distributing a white paper on the new technique in its ACC booth.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersMarch 10, 2004
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