Chest Pain Guidelines

The first comprehensive guideline for the evaluation of chest pain was published in October 2021 by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and received the endorsement of most of the other U.S. subspecialty cardiology societies. The new guideline recommends medical professionals use standardized risk assessments, clinical pathways and tools to evaluate and communicate with people experiencing chest pain. While the guideline covers the role of all types of tests and imaging, the new guidelines elevated the frontline use of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and FFR-CT in specific patients. This inclusion has caused a large amount of interest in expanding cardiac CT programs.

The many benefits of using low-cost CT coronary calcium scoring to screen patients
CT calcium scoring provides valuable evaluations of intermediate-risk patients in addition to making good business sense for hospitals. Nauman Mushtaq, MD, an interventional cardiologist with Northwestern, shared his own experience with this technology.
CT-first strategy the most effective path forward when evaluating stable chest pain
Heart teams have several options when patients present with stable chest pain and require further testing. According to a brand new analysis of nearly 800 patients, CCTA may be the best place to start.
What new data, expert guidelines tell us about the future of cardiac CT
Renee Bullock-Palmer, MD, details the latest guidelines that support the continued use of CT angiography.
$Performing CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) before transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) improves the accuracy of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and helps limit unneeded invasive coronary angiography (ICA), according to a new study published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. Heartflow$
HeartFlow’s AI-powered CAD offering reaches a significant milestone
The company's trademark offering has now been used to evaluate one quarter of a million patients.
Cardiology now has more than 100 FDA cleared AI algorithms
Cardiology makes up 10% of the 692 market-cleared clinical AI algorithms in the FDA’s latest update on the number of patient-facing AI now commercialized in the U.S. Experts share their thoughts on how it is being used.

PHOTO GALLERY: Duly Health adopts outpatient cardiac CT as a standard of care

Duly Health and Care in suburban Chicago recently opened a new outpatient cardiac evaluation center equipped with a dedicated cardiac CT system, which will likely be a new business model that will be seen more in the coming years.

April 20, 2022

Leslee Shaw, PhD, and former presidents of both SCCT and ASNC discusses the role of CT and FFR-CT in the 2021 chest pain guidelines.

VIDEO: Cardiac CT now recommended as a front-line chest pain assessment tool

Leslee Shaw, PhD, director of the Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and former president of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC), explains the role of cardiac computed tomography (CT) in the recent 2021 chest pain guidelines.

April 19, 2022

A cardiac CT scan being performed on a Cardiograph dedicated cardiac CT scanner at a Duly Health and Care outpatient clinic. Photo by Dave Fornell

VIDEO: Office-based cardiac CT and FFR-CT offer a new business model

In a new video, Evans Pappas, MD, and Sujith Kalathiveetil, MD, both of Duly Health and Care in suburban Chicago, explain the shift toward office-based cardiac CT evaluations and the role of FFR-CT.

March 22, 2022

Imaging group says new guidelines for chest pain contain some ‘troubling recommendations’

The update is meant to help clinicians improve outcomes while reducing costs, but one advocate says certain imaging suggestions may cause unanticipated harm.

October 29, 2021

American Society of Nuclear Cardiology says AHA/ACC chest pain guidelines miss the mark

One of the group's primary concerns is the "inappropriately large role" given to FFR-CT.

October 29, 2021

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Chest Pain Guidelines

The many benefits of using low-cost CT coronary calcium scoring to screen patients

CT-first strategy the most effective path forward when evaluating stable chest pain

What new data, expert guidelines tell us about the future of cardiac CT

HeartFlow’s AI-powered CAD offering reaches a significant milestone

Cardiology now has more than 100 FDA cleared AI algorithms

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