Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
High-Resolution Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography for Small Animals
Published on: December 16, 2022
Dual-source computed tomographic coronary angiography: image quality and stenosis diagnosis in patients with high
Minwen Zheng1, Jiayi Li, Jian Xu
1Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
Insights
High heart rates in dual-source CT coronary angiography do not significantly impair diagnostic accuracy for stenosis. However, heart rate variability negatively impacts image quality, especially with variations over 5 beats/min.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Radiology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) is crucial for coronary artery imaging.
- High heart rates can challenge image acquisition and diagnostic accuracy in cardiac CT.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively evaluate the impact of high heart rate and heart rate variability on DSCT coronary image quality.
- To retrospectively assess the accuracy of DSCT for diagnosing coronary artery stenosis in patients with high heart rates.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of image quality and diagnostic accuracy between high ( >70 bpm) and low (≤70 bpm) heart rate groups.
- Analysis of 1,133 coronary arterial segments across 80 patients.
- Retrospective assessment of stenosis diagnosis against angiographic findings.
Main Results:
- Diagnostic image quality was high in both groups (97.7% low-HR, 93.7% high-HR), with no significant difference in overall quality scores or stenosis diagnosis accuracy.
- Heart rate variability, particularly >5 bpm, significantly degraded image quality, especially for the left circumflex artery.
- Optimal reconstruction windows shifted from diastole to systole as heart rates increased.
Conclusions:
- DSCT coronary angiography provides sufficient diagnostic image quality for stenosis detection even at high heart rates.
- Heart rate variability is a significant factor that deteriorates image quality in DSCT coronary angiography.
- Managing heart rate variability is key to optimizing image quality in high-heart-rate cardiac CT.
Abstract:
We sought to evaluate prospectively the effects of heart rate and heart-rate variability on dual-source computed tomographic coronary image quality in patients whose heart rates were high, and to determine retrospectively the accuracy of dual-source computed tomographic diagnosis of coronary artery stenosis in the same patients.We compared image quality and diagnostic accuracy in 40 patients whose heart rates exceeded 70 beats/min with the same data in 40 patients whose heart rates were 70 beats/min or slower. In both groups, we analyzed 1,133 coronary arterial segments. Five hundred forty-five segments (97.7%) in low-heart-rate patients and 539 segments (93.7%) in high-heart-rate patients were of diagnostic image quality. We considered P < 0.05 to be statistically significant. No statistically significant differences between the groups were found in diagnostic-image quality scores of total segments or of any coronary artery, nor were any significant differences found between the groups in the accurate diagnosis of angiographically significant stenosis.Calcification was the chief factor that affected diagnostic accuracy. In high-heart-rate patients, heart-rate variability was significantly related to the diagnostic image quality of all segments (P = 0.001) and of the left circumflex coronary artery (P = 0.016). Heart-rate variability of more than 5 beats/min most strongly contributed to an inability to evaluate segments in both groups. When heart rates rose, the optimal reconstruction window shifted from diastole to systole.The image quality of dual-source computed tomographic coronary angiography at high heart rates enables sufficient diagnosis of stenosis, although variability of heart rates significantly deteriorates image quality.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:28Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System V: CT
01:25Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System VI: Calcium -Scoring CT
01:30Acute Coronary Syndrome III: Diagnostic Studies
01:20Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System III: X-Ray
Definition and Purpose
An X-ray, or radiograph, is a non-invasive method that uses ionizing radiation to take images of internal structures. It is mainly used in cardiac imaging to examine the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels, aiming to identify abnormalities in the heart's size, shape, and position, such as heart failure, congenital defects, and vascular...
01:23Mitral Stenosis II: Clinical features and Diagnostic Tests
01:20Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System II:Types of Echocardiography
Types of Echocardiography
Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE)
TTE is the most common type of echocardiogram which involves placing a transducer on the patient's chest, emitting sound waves to create heart images. TTE is invaluable for evaluating the heart's size, structure, and motion, making it particularly useful for diagnosing...