Atlas of Cardiac CT, by Allen J. Taylor, MD, is a practical cardiac imaging reference that provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of this modality. Inside you'll find user-friendly case-based structured sections that offer a brief clinical introduction, multiple CT images, highlights of strengths and pitfalls, brief commentary, and further suggested readingsequipping you with everything you need to know to obtain the best imaging results. Expert Consult functionality further enhances your reference power with convenient online access to the complete contents of the bookfully searchablealong with additional images and videos.
Foreword
Cardiovascular computed tomography is among the most exciting and most advanced of the imaging modalities, and its ability to visualize the coronary arteries noninvasively represents a true breakthrough in technology. Cardiovascular CT has important real and potential applications for assessing vascular anatomy, atherosclerotic plaque composition and extent, the pulmonary arterial and venous systems, and structure and function of the cardiac chambers.
In selected patients, cardiac CT has a growing role in detecting and quantifying coronary artery calcium, as this marker of atherosclerosis burden may provide important prognostic information that is additive to standard risk assessment tools. For example, among patients considered at intermediate risk for short-term coronary events on the basis of the Framingham risk score (e.g., those with a 10--20% Framingham 10-year risk estimate), data from CT imaging may help determine which patients are candidates for more aggressive lowering of serum cholesterol. This strategy would be based on the reclassification of some patients to a higher risk status based on high coronary artery calcium score, and patient management might thus be modified.Coronary CT angiography, using multislice CT technology, has truly revolutionized our ability to evaluate patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. In addition to visualizing the coronary lumen and determining the extent and severity of coronary artery stenoses (thus reproducing the diagnostic information previously obtained only by invasive coronary arteriography), coronary CT also visualizes the coronary artery wall, thus providing data regarding vascular remodeling and coronary plaque burden (both calcified and noncalcified) that cannot be derived from standard, catheter-based arteriography. Current research holds the promise of the ability to more fully characterize atherosclerotic plaque composition in the near future.Multislice cardiac CT has important applications beyond the coronary arteries. It has important and evolving applications for assessing the aorta (and is the diagnostic gold standard for aortic aneurysms and dissection), the pulmonary circulation, the pulmonary venous anatomy (that aids greatly in planning ablation therapy for atrial fibrillation), and left ventricular mass, volume, and function in conditions ranging from heart failure and valvular heart disease to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.The major drawback of cardiovascular CT is the associated radiation burden. New techniques, including prospective ECG gating and dose modulation, are reducing the radiation exposure substantially, and these techniques are becoming more commonplace.Unresolved issues still linger: Who should be studied? Who should interpret the study? Who will pay for the study? Who will train whom? How will guidelines be affected? How will quality be determined and maintained? Hopefully, these are not unresolvable, and the cardiovascular societies are collectively addressing these complex and inter-related questions. Measuring performance in cardiac imaging is inherently difficult, as it is not possible to connect the results of an imaging test to health-related outcomes. Patient selection is a key variable, as it impacts importantly on downstream management decisions including further testing, interventions, and costs.On the other hand, cardiovascular imaging has transformed, and will continue to transform, cardiovascular care. Cardiac CT in particular represents a revolutionary imaging modality that creates a unique opportunity to improve diagnosis and streamline clinical management strategies but also creates challenges in patient selection, clinical training, resource utilization, and cost effectiveness. That will be our challenge going forward.The editorial team of Braunwald's Heart Disease is delighted to launch a series of four imaging companions, each dedicated to one of the key cardiac imaging modalities. This companion on cardiovascular CT, expertly edited by Dr. Allen J. Taylor, covers all of the important technical and clinical aspects of this exciting field and provides a unique case-based perspective into the tremendous potential for CT imaging to enhance patient diagnosis and management. We believe that this companion will be a highly valuable resource for clinicians, imaging subspecialists, and cardiovascular trainees and that it will contribute in a significant manner to the care of the patients they serve.
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chief
Division of Cardiology, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
Book Features
- Features a clinically oriented, case-based and evidence-based approach for coverage that you can readily apply in your daily practice.
- Offers the guidance of today’s experts in cardiac CT, along with input of the editorial team behind Braunwald’s Heart Disease, to ensure that you have only the best knowledge at your fingertips.
- Includes a final chapter, Which Modality for Which Disease, to help you determine the best imaging modality to use for a specific problem.
- Presents abundant high-quality images that clearly depict the use of cardiac CT and visually reinforce the text.
- Provides complete guidance on obtaining the best image quality possible and the avoidance of artifacts.
- Uses a consistent chapter format that makes it easy to find the information you need.
- Offers access to the complete contents online, fully searchable, along with additional images and videos, at expertconsult.com.
- Consult the book from any computer at home, in your office, or at any practice location.
- Instantly locate the answers to your clinical questions via a simple search query.
- Quickly find out more about any bibliographical citation by linking to its MEDLINE abstract.
- Images: Browse a Library of all book images. Easily select, organize, and download your images into a presentation.
Allen J. Taylor, MD, Professor of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD; Chief of Cardilogy Service, Director of Cardiovascular Research, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.
- Chapter 1 - Cardiac CT: How It Works
- Chapter 2 - Optimizing CT Image Quality
- Chapter 3 - Contrast Medium Administration
- Chapter 4 - Systematic Analysis of Cardiac CT
- Chapter 5 - Coronary CT Angiography: Normal Anatomy
- Chapter 6 - Coronary CT Angiography: Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease
- Chapter 7 - Detection of Calcified Atherosclerosis
- Chapter 8 - Coronary CT Angiography: The Patient with Noncalcified Plaque
- Chapter 9 - The Post-Revascularization Patient
- Chapter 10 - Advanced Vessel Analysis
- Chapter 11 - Applications of PET-CT and SPECT-CT
- Chapter 12 - The Left Ventricle
- Chapter 13 - CT Detection of Myocardial Perfusion, Infarction, and Viability
- Chapter 14 - The Right Ventricle
- Chapter 15 - Coronary Veins, Systemic Veins, and Atria
- Chapter 16 - Aortic Disease
- Chapter 17 - Valvular Heart Disease
- Chapter 18 - Prosthetic Heart Valves
- Chapter 19 - Pericardial Disease
Product Details
- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Saunders; 1 Har/Psc edition (November 17, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1416061363
- ISBN-13: 978-1416061366
- Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
List Price: $195.00
Look for These Other Titles in the Braunwald's Heart Disease Family
Braunwald's Heart Disease Companions Series
- Acute Coronary Syndromes by Pierre Theroux
- Atlas of Cardiac Computed Tomography by Allen J. Taylor
- Clinical Lipidology by Christie M. Ballantyne
- Clinical Arrhythmology and Electrophysiology by Ziad Issa, John M. Miller and Douglas P. Zipes
- Heart Failure by Douglas L. Mann
- Preventive Cardiology by Roger S. Blumenthal, Joanne M. Foody and Nathan D. Wong