Researchers develop new early warning scan for heart attacks

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a new type of imaging test to provide an early warning of coronary artery disease, and the risk of heart attacks. The new imaging technique can be applied as a new feature in routine computed tomography angiography (CTA), and will improve the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease, enabling timely prevention strategies and improving the treatment of thousands of people living with the disease. Coronary artery disease occurs when atherosclerotic plaques build up in the arteries that serve the heart. These plaques cause the vessels to narrow, and when they block without warning they lead to a heart attack. Currently, diagnostic methods rely on detecting damage that has already been caused by these plaques - when the damage is irreversible and treatment options are often limited. Inflammation is the local process preceding the development of these plaques, and is also the process that triggers rapid blockages leading to heart attacks. Therefore, detection of inflammation in the heart arteries has been an unmet need in cardiovascular diagnostics for more than 50 years.