New CT technology will aid in chest pain management among ER’s

New CT technology is offering a quicker and more cost effective way to manage chest pain complaints in the ER. CAT (Computed tomography angiography) aids in identifying patients at low-risk of cardiac problems like the blocked arteries that lead to heart attacks. The center for Medicare and Medicaid services have yet to decide on whether to pay for the service in the ER.

What are the benefits of CAT?

Costs for patients who received immediate CTA in the emergency department averaged about $1,240, while costs of stress testing and telemetry monitoring topped $4,000 for each patient. CTA also helped get low-risk chest pain patients home faster, potentially reducing emergency room crowding — study patients who received immediate CTA were discharged after an average of 8 hours, compared to more than 24 hours for those who received stress tests or were admitted for telemetry monitoring.

I think that this will soon be a readily available and popular procedure among chest pain management areas in your local ER’s.

via Science Daily