Study finds scans cuts heart attack rates and saves lives

New research suggests heart scans for patients with chest pains could save thousands of lives in the UK.

A trial by researchers at the University of Edinburgh saw around 2,000 patients referred to a hospital clinic with symptoms of angina given a computed tomography angiogram (CTA) saw the number suffering a heart attack within five years drop by 40%.

They said current guidelines should be updated to incorporate the scans into routine care.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said CTAs were ''a cheap, reliable, non-invasive way to save lives and the wide-spread use of the scan should be adopted across the UK''.

The study tracked more than 4,000 patients who were referred with symptoms of angina - a condition that restricts the blood supply to the heart.

Half of the patients were given a CTA in addition to standard diagnostic tests, with the number of patients suffering a heart attack within five years falling by 40%.

The scans help to spot those with heart disease so they can be given treatment such as statins to prevent heart attacks.

The study found the number of patients undergoing additional procedures increased within the first year but had levelled out by the end of the five-year period.

This suggests including the scans in routine care would not lead to a surge in costly tests or additional heart surgery, researchers said.

Patients who are at risk of a heart attack are frequently diagnosed with a test called an angiogram.

This involves inserting tubes into the body and heart to check the flow of blood and identify any obstructions that could pose a heart attack risk.

But CTA scans enable doctors to look at the blood vessels from the outside the body, without the need to insert tubes into the heart.

Lead researcher Professor David Newby, of the BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh, said: ''This relatively simple heart scan ensures that patients get the right treatment.

This is the first time that CT guided management has been shown to improve patient outcomes with a major reduction in the future risk of heart attacks.

This has major implications for how we now investigate and manage patients with suspected heart disease.''

Prof Pearson added: ''This scan saves lives.

Patients who receive CT-angiography in hospital are better off than those who don't.

They're more likely to receive lifesaving drugs and treatments like statins in the earlier stages of disease, which leads to fewer heart attacks in the long run.

In the past we've been unsure whether this scan translates to a real-life patient benefit.

But these results make it clear - it's a cheap, reliable, non-invasive way to save lives and the wide-spread use of the scan should be adopted across the UK.''