Heart attack risk could be reduced ‘by scanning clinic patients’

Heart attack rates could be cut by sending patients referred to cardiac clinics for routine scans, according to new research from the University of Edinburgh.

The SCOT-HEART study indicates that the scan results could assist doctors in making the best treatment decisions, which could subsequently save countless lives.

To conduct the research, the university tracked 4,000 patients who had been referred to cardiac clinics for symptoms of angina – a condition that restricts the flow of blood to the heart.  

The participants were split into two groups – both were given standard diagnostic tests, but the second was given additional cardiac computerised tomography (CT) scans.

Researchers discovered that around one-quarter of patients had their diagnoses reclassified after undergoing a CT scan, which prompted doctors to suggest new treatments in many cases.

In addition, the study found that the number of heart attacks experienced by the respondents who had received a CT scan dropped by around one-third in the 20-month follow-up period.

Professor David Newby, from the university's Centre for Cardiovascular Science and lead author of the research, said the findings were encouraging.

"However, the overall rate of heart attacks was low and we need to follow them for longer to confirm whether the technology helps to save lives in the long term," he added.