New Imaging Techniques Shows Heart Attack Risks

A new imaging technique may help determine whether or not a person is at risk of heart attack as it shows potential blockages in the heart, according to two new researches.

Researchers have found a way to use a cancer scan that lights up areas at risk of heart attack. Approximately 200 people in the UK die from heart attacks daily and many of these deaths were triggered by blockages in the heart that cannot be diagnosed easily. Results of the study were published in the Lancet. A recent trial confirmed that this newest test may be able to help identify patients suffering from angina whether or not they are at a possible risk of heart attack. Once diagnosed, they can immediately be treated and possible death may also be avoided.

Scientists at Edinburgh University used a PET-CT scanner, a scanner that is normally used for cancer, to track a chemical compound also known as a radioactive tracer that is injected into the patient's body. The tracer, a type of F-sodium fluoride can accurately identify high-risk areas in the heart by emitting a glow that is seen in the scan.

The study looked at two groups of patients. The first group was made up of 40 people who just had a heart attack and the other group was made up of 40 people with angina and was at risk of heart attack. Scan results showed that more than 90 percent of heart attack patients had a lit-up area at the blockage that caused their heart attack. Almost half of the patients suffering from angina also showed a lit-up plaque in areas that make them at risk of heart attack. Lead study researcher Dr. Marc Dweck said: "We have developed what we hope is a way to light up plaques on the brink of rupturing and causing heart attack."