This is the newest non-invasive test which visualizes the coronary arteries and coronary bypass grafts using the EBCT scan and intravenous dye injection. This 10 minute procedure requires no special preparations. Dr. Santora and OC Vital Imaging have been one of the leading developers of this technology. Your physician needs to determine if this test is suitable for you.

The non-invasive angiogram is also called a CT angiogram. This rapidly expanding new technology has been made possible by the high speed of the EBCT scanner. CT angiograms of the coronary arteries are interpreted by the highly experienced cardiologists of The Orange County Heart Institute. Our cardiologists are very experienced at performing invasive coronary angiograms as well performing coronary interventions such as intra-coronary stents and balloon angioplasty. The Interventional Cardiologists have an average of 20 years each performing balloon angioplasties and intra-coronary stents. This gives them the depth of experience with coronary angiography which is so important in interpreting CT angiograms of the coronary arteries. Dr. Santora and Dr Alimadadiam have performed many thousands of invasive coronary angiograms and coronary interventions over the past 25 years and oversee the CT angiography program at OC Vital Imaging. With our latest state of the art imaging software, CT angiography at OC Vital Imaging offers unparallel pictures of the coronary arteries.

If you choose to have a CT angiogram of your heart at another imaging center, make sure that they are interpreted by experienced invasive cardiologists using EBCT scanners (or if they use multi-detector CT scanner, the scanner should have at least 64 detectors, sometimes referred to as a “64 slice” multi-detector CT).

Indications for CT Angiography
• To evaluate bypass graphs in patients who have had coronary bypass surgery.
• To evaluate patients who have abnormal or equivocal stress tests
• To evaluate younger patients who have coronary calcium on EBCT scan
• To evaluate patients who have unexplained chest pain or shortness of breath
• To evaluate the coronary arteries in patients who have unexplained congestive heart failure or a cardiomyopathy