The current focus of much clinical research is to determine how to prevent heart attacks from occurring. Two strategies are currently used by physicians to reduce the risk of a heart attack. One strategy is aimed at inhibiting the clotting process in coronary arteries with such drugs as aspirin. Another strategy is to use cholesterol lowering drugs to prevent cholesterol build-up.
The question still remains: which individuals should have treatment with cholesterol lowering drugs? Some individuals with mild elevation of cholesterol will never get coronary disease and some individuals with cholesterol in the normal range will have a heart attack. Hopefully, new imaging techniques will prove useful for detection of coronary artery disease and screening of patients at risk for a heart attack.
One such non-invasive imaging technique is called Ultrafast CT. This radiology study identifies coronary artery cholesterol plaques by the presence of calcium in the plaques. Another imaging technique, called vascular ultrasound evaluation of the arteries in the neck, is useful because patients with cholesterol build-up in arteries in the neck and legs also tend to have cholesterol plaques in the coronary arteries. In addition, more specific blood tests to evaluate for the risk of coronary artery disease are being evaluated. Currently, the sum of risk factors is added together to provide the physician with an overall risk assessment or "heart attack scorecard" in order to determine the appropriate preventive treatment for the individual.
The question still remains: which individuals should have treatment with cholesterol lowering drugs? Some individuals with mild elevation of cholesterol will never get coronary disease and some individuals with cholesterol in the normal range will have a heart attack. Hopefully, new imaging techniques will prove useful for detection of coronary artery disease and screening of patients at risk for a heart attack.
One such non-invasive imaging technique is called Ultrafast CT. This radiology study identifies coronary artery cholesterol plaques by the presence of calcium in the plaques. Another imaging technique, called vascular ultrasound evaluation of the arteries in the neck, is useful because patients with cholesterol build-up in arteries in the neck and legs also tend to have cholesterol plaques in the coronary arteries. In addition, more specific blood tests to evaluate for the risk of coronary artery disease are being evaluated. Currently, the sum of risk factors is added together to provide the physician with an overall risk assessment or "heart attack scorecard" in order to determine the appropriate preventive treatment for the individual.
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