Patient Education

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Computed Tomography (CT) Angiogram

Test Overview

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A computed tomography angiogram (CT angiogram) is a test that uses X-rays, Opens dialog to provide detailed pictures of the heart and the blood vessels that go to the heart, lung, brain, kidneys, head, neck, legs, and arms.

This test can show narrowed or blocked areas of a blood vessel. It can also show whether there is a bulge (aneurysm, Opens dialog) or a buildup of fatty material called plaque, Opens dialog in a blood vessel.

During a CT angiogram, you lie on a table that passes through a doughnut-shaped opening in the scanner. A special dye (contrast material, Opens dialog) is put in a vein (I.V, Opens dialog.) in your arm or hand to make the blood vessels easier to see on the scan. If you are having this test to look at your heart and the blood vessels that go to it (coronary arteries, Opens dialog), you may be given a medicine called a beta-blocker, Opens dialog to slow your heart rate during the test.

Benefits and limitations

A CT angiogram is a less invasive test than a standard angiogram. A standard angiogram involves threading a thin tube called a catheter through an artery in your arm or leg up to the area being studied. But with a CT angiogram, no tubes are put in your body.

If your doctor sees that one or more of your blood vessels are narrowed or blocked, you may need a standard angiogram anyway to double-check the abnormal results from the CT angiogram. This is more likely to happen if your doctor is considering surgery to treat the narrowing or blockage.

If your doctor finds a major blockage in one of your blood vessels during a CT angiogram, you won't be able to get an angioplasty, Opens dialog right away to clear the blockage. You will need a separate procedure. But if you have a standard angiogram and the doctor finds a major blockage, he or she can perform an angioplasty during the angiogram.

Current as of: July 31, 2024

Author: Ignite Healthwise, LLC Staff

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