title: CT scanning of the heart.
abstract: It is generally agreed that all present diagnostic cardiac methods including echocardiography, nuclear medicine, and coronary arteriography have significant limitations. Nuclear cardiology provides excellent diagnostic sensitivity using small amounts of radioactive tracers, but it currently lacks the spatial fidelity needed to differentiate many anatomic structures in the heart. CT complements the capabilities of these alternative imaging modalities. Computed tomography offers accurate reconstruction of the whole myocardium with far greater spatial and density resolution in three dimensions. CT may eventually find its most important and clinically useful application in the diagnosis and management of heart disease.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D004285:Dogs; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010494:Pericarditis, Constrictive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*