[Use of coronary artery multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) to identify patients for surgical...

Conventional coronary angiography is the undisputed gold standard for the detection of coronary artery disease. A small but not negligible risk related to the procedure, cost, and radiation exposure have given rise to the development of noninvasive alternatives such as multi-slice computed tomography, and magnetic resonance coronary angiography. In some patients classic X-ray coronary angiography involves high risk and technical difficulties. Fast, non-complicated and easy to use non-invasive imaging procedures should be developed to avoid unnecessary or technically difficult, uncomfortable situations for patients with documented myocardial ischemia. We present three cases of patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery or were disqualified from it on the basis of MSCT imaging.