New Technique to Detect Heart Plaque Discovered

A new technique has been developed to detect a dangerous coronary plaque that previously medical practitioners were not able to see in regular check ups. The coronary plaque that can now be detected is involved in heat attacks and strokes.

A number of patients have suffered heart attacks without any warning. Many of these individuals have been subjected to a silent build up of what is known as non-calcified plaque in their coronary arteries. This non-calcified soft deposits are not detectable using regular cardiac stress tests such as angiography. However, hear arteries with this non-calcium soft deposits are very prone to rupture violently without any warning, thus , the patient suffer a stroke or heart attack.

Now, according to a new study, published in the leading medical publication American Journal of Roentgenology, a new technique has been developed to detect non-calcified plaque. The new technique is called "voxel analysis in conjunction with multi-detector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA). The new technique has been shown, in this study, to be very effective in measuring the non-calcified plaque.

The study's leading researcher Melvin Clouse, associated with Harvard Medical School, believes that by measuring the non-calcified plaque doctors may have a the whole picture to properly diagnose and treat different heart conditions. He believe this is a new approach , and a better one, in diagnosing and treating heart issues.

This new technique (multi-detector computed tomography angiography) is, in addition to being a better technique than traditional angiography, non invasive. The MDCTA is based on 64 separate scans that look at the heart completely. A detailed cross-sectional view of the blood vessel wall is obtained from those scans so build up can be better observed and measured.