An alphabet soup of medical organizations (ACCF, SCCT, ACR, AHA, ASE, etc.) have updated their appropriate use criteria for cardiac CT. The lengthy document includes an evaluation of 93 clinical scenarios and finds that cardiac CT is appropriate in 38% of them. Use of cardiac CT in the rest of the scenarios is deemed inappropriate or uncertain.<\/p>\n
In general, cardiac CT angiography \u00a0is deemed appropriate for use in patients with low or intermediate risk for CAD, while its use in high-risk patients, routine repeat testing, and general screening is deemed inappropriate. Calcium scanning is considered appropriate in people at intermediate risk or some low-risk people with a family history of heart disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we know a patient has existing heart problems or is at high risk for heart disease, doing the test isn’t generally going to add any valuable clinical information,\u201d said Allen Taylor, the chair of the writing committee, in a press release issued by the ACC. \u201cOrdering a test when a patient doesn’t need it \u2014 or won’t benefit \u2014 is not quality cardiac care.\u201d<\/p>\n