5.27.2008

Increased Screening May Better Predict Those At Higher Risk For Heart Disease

Adding noninvasive imaging to current risk-assessment protocols may identify more people who are at risk of developing heart disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

Researchers used data from the UT Southwestern-led Dallas Heart Study to determine whether using computed tomography (CT) to scan patients' hearts for calcium deposits and blockages could identify more people at high risk for heart disease and who could benefit from cholesterol-lowering therapy.

The recommendations by the Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education (SHAPE) task force are a proposed update to the current guidelines, were updated by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) in 2004.

source: UT Southwestern

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