New Heart Test Faster, Accurate

A new heart test is a fast and accurate means of tracking blood slowed down by narrowing of the coronary arteries, according to U.S. researchers.

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine say it took them less than half the time of exercise stress tests and echocardiograms used currently to find early warning of vessels more likely to become blocked and cause heart attack.

If the human trials prove successful, senior investigator Albert C. Lardo says the new scanner could dramatically change the way we diagnose coronary disease in patients with initial symptoms of chest pain, by providing a safe, non-invasive and fast method to detect blood-flow problems in heart tissue.

Because it takes less than 15 minutes to perform and does not require patients to be stabilized ahead of scanning, it could replace most other more time-consuming tests that help find blockages, including not only exercise stress testing and echocardiograms, but also positron electron tomography imaging or magnetic resonance imaging, says Lardo.

The Hopkins team presented their findings at the American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago.