Cardiaccta

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Cardiac CTA
Your Cardiac CTA is scheduled at Jamestown Hospital PRE-PROCEDURE
POST-PROCEDURE
After checking in at the front desk of the hospital, you will Following the procedure, you will be taken back to the pre- ______________________________________.
be directed to a pre-procedure room where a nurse will procedure room. You will need to stay too have your heart ask you to undress and put on a patient gown.The nurse rate monitored for approximately 30 minutes.
Please report to the Admissions desk in the front lobby will check to be sure all the appropriate tests and of the hospital 5-10 minutes before the scheduled time.
POTENTIAL RISKS
paperwork are completed. Your heart rate, temperature, Your exam will take about 30minutes to do but you and blood pressure will be checked and an IV started on There is a small risk of allergic reaction. You should plan on being here about an hour before the should notify your physician or the technologist if you exam and about 30 minutes after it is completed.
have any allergy to “x-ray dye”.
In order to do the test, your heart rate must be less than60 beats per minute. If your heart rate is greater than 60, If a large amount of the x-ray contrast leaks out DESCRIPTION
the nurse will give you another 100 mg lopressor tablet under the skin where the IV is placed, skin damage orally. After a 30 minute wait, your heart rate will be CT (computerized tomography) angiography (CTA) is checked again and then you will be taken to the CT suite.
an examination that uses x-rays to visualize blood flow CTA may need to be avoided in patients with severe in the coronary arteries. Beams of x-rays are passed PROCEDURE
through the heart from different angles to create You will be securely positioned on your back on the CT If your heart rate remains low after the test, you may multiple images, which are then processed by a table. During the procedure, the table will move to place need additional medication to reverse the effects of computer to produce a cross-sectional picture.
the area of interest within the scanner. The technologist Reconstructions of the scan data will be used to obtain will control the procedure from an adjacent room where LIMITATIONS
information about the structure and function of the you will be in full view at all times and in constant communication via two-way microphones. Images will be CTA images of blood vessels may be blurred or taken during which the table will move slightly. You may “fuzzy” if you move during the exam. Visualization of PREPARATION
hear the humming of the equipment as it produces the the blood vessels may be difficult if the heart is not Do not consume any form of caffeine 12 hours functioning properly. Blocked blood vessels may also make the images harder to interpret.
If your heart rate is less than 60, the technologist will Take one (1) 100 mg lopressor tablet orally at 9:00 proceed with the test. If your heart rate is still greater If your heart rate is not less than 60 beats per minute than 60, a lopressor dose will be injected through your after administration of the IV lopressor, the exam Do not have anything to eat or drink for 4 hours before the test. Inform the technologist if you: You will have a 3-lead EKG attached to monitor your POST-PROCEDURE INSTRUCTIONS
** Are allergic to iodine compounds or have had a Unless you are scheduled for other tests or are told previous reaction to contrast material or “xray dye”.
Your IV will be attached to an automatic injector that otherwise by your physician, you may resume You will need to sign an informational consent and will inject contrast during the time the scan is actually your regular diet after completion of the scan. answer some questions about your health history.
being performed. The technologist will perform You should have someone drive you home after the You should monitor the injection/ needle site for preliminary images with a test injection of the contrast. You will receive one squirt of a nitroglycerine spray WHY THE PROCEDURE IS DONE
under your tongue immediately before the scan is You will need to have some one drive you home after Visualize blood flow in the coronary arteries of the heart and identify any narrowing (stenosis).
Most of the time for the CTA is spent settingeverything up. It will only take about 15-45 seconds for The radiologist will report the test findings to your Evaluate the structure and function of the heart. the scan to be completed and it is very important that physician. Your physician will contact you with the Identify an aneurysm or dissection of the arteries.
you do not move during that time and that you follow the instructions for holding your breath.

Source: http://jth.fasthealth.com/docs/CardiacCTA.pdf