Quick Chest Pain Test Simplifies Discharge Decision

Hallelujah!  Which of my local hospitals will be offering this 'simple, inexpensive test'?  Moreover, will it be available at my cardiologist's office?!  It's so frustrating being told to go to the emergency room (where the emergency room doctor's call my cardiologist and ask what to do...).  A lot of waste (especially when I've gone in at night, they automatically admit me into the hospital overnight, no if's, and's or but's.  Quite a lot of expense in the end.  I don't want it to sound like I make a bee line for the ER every time my heart skips a beat (I've gone twice since my heart attack, for my heart).  I'm very happy for all heart patients about this new test!  Article below:

Quick Chest Pain Test Simplifies Discharge Decision

Thursday, February 11, 2010

CT scan lets doctors see any blockage in arteries, study finds

A simple, inexpensive test can tell doctors whether it's safe to discharge a patient who has come to the emergency room with chest pain, a new study shows.

The coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) test detects coronary artery disease. A CT scan is used to quickly provide doctors with a detailed image of the heart that shows calcium build-up in the coronary arteries.

This study of 1,031 chest pain patients found that those with a CACS score of zero can be safely sent home without further heart testing. Of the patients in the study, 61 percent had a CACS of zero.

"It is imperative to accurately diagnose patients who come to the emergency department with chest pain. Unfortunately, diagnosing chest pain is often expensive and time-consuming. This new data could save millions of health-care dollars and countless hours spent waiting on unnecessary tests," principal investigator Dr. John Mahmarian, a cardiologist at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Institute in Houston, said in a news release.

The study was published online Feb. 8 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.