Coronary heart diseases (CHD) and myocardial infarctions (MI) are major killers worldwide. Based on US cardiovascular disease statistics^1,2, e.g. in 2005 over 1,372,000 Americans died from CVD, accounting for 56 percent of all deaths. Within ten years (1996 – 2006), cardiovascular procedures increased by 30 percent. Due to this fact the direct and indirect costs are heavily increasing and lead to a growing economic burden. As time is (heart) muscle, the diagnostic challenge is to provide a complete solution to evaluate the cardiac anatomy (stenosis quantification) in case of an acute myocardial infarction, as well as the cardiac viability (blood volume) and hemodynamic relevance of stenoses (myocardial perfusion). Siemens computed tomography (CT) scanner capabilities (highest temporal resolution, highest spatial resolution, highest scan speed, lowest dose, Dual Energy) and dedicated clinical applications such as syngo^® Circulation, syngo Dual Energy (DE) Perfused Blood Volume (PBV), and syngo Volume Perfusion CT Body – Myocardium³ provide a best-placed solution to fulfill these requirements.

In case of acute chest pain, CT is the preferred modality for a fast triple rule out exam, excluding either a coronary artery disease, a pulmonary embolism or an aortic dissection. Siemens CT scanners deliver highest spatial and temporal resolution at lowest dose, thus enabling robust and precise results. In addition, syngo Circulation and syngo InSpace4D AVA provide an efficient workflow for fast and reliable assessment.

Assuming that the myocardial viability is ok, there are still some remaining questions such as “Is it an old or fresh myocardial infarction?”, or “What about the atherosclerotic narrowing of the coronaries? Is it hemodynamically relevant?” Important questions which now can be answered by Siemens’ solutions such as the “Heart Perfusion Scanning”³ and the new software syngo Volume Perfusion CT Body – Myocardium³.