New technique to diagnose heart disease

A new technique is used to diagnose heart problems. A new method of scanning based on magnetic resonance imaging is proving to be a useful alternative to conventional methods for diagnosing heart problems.The usual technique for diagnosing blocked arteries that are the cause of heart disease involves injecting a dye into the vessels and then taking X-rays. But researchers at University of Cleavland have learned that using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) gives results that are equally effective.

They looked at 80 patients, in the US and all over Europe, that were scheduled for a conventional test, giving them an MRI scan in addition. The new imaging technique, which does not involve any injections, was 63 per cent accurate in diagnosis of heart disease. The accuracy rose to 70 per cent when it came to looking at three-vessel or left main artery disease. What is more, the MRI technique was 80 per cent accurate in ruling out any form of heart disease and 100 per cent accurate in eliminating three-vessel or left main artery disease. The findings suggest that MRI could well be a useful alternative to alternative methods for diagnosing heart disease. For the patient, it's good because it takes only 15 minutes, compared to several hours for conventional methods. And it does not require an injection of material to make the X-ray visible.