Heart Scan “guinea pig” gets surprise.

It is exciting to see how advances in technology continue to change our lives, especially in the medical field.

A recent cover story in a major magazine reveals how a heart scan saved a “healthy” man's life. To help demonstrate a new experimental CT scanner , the 49 year old registered nurse was surprised when the CT scan showed a large blockage in one of his coronary arteries. Although the man had a slightly higher-than-average cholesterol count, he had no previous signs of heart problems and passed a stress test prior to the CT scan. The blockage could have possibly caused a heart attack if left undiscovered.

The article mentions advancements in invasive CT scanning (computed tomography) technology in the past 18 months have led doctors and other medical professionals to rethink strategies for detecting heart problems. Commonly, invasive procedures, such as cardiac catheterization were used to detect possible heart problems which left undetected, could lead to heart attacks.

Although CT scanning is not a new technology, the advancements over the past year or so have certainly brought positive attention to aid in early detection of other deseases as well. Full body scans can be used to determine other questionable areas and organs in need of further medical attention. A lung scan, for example, may be able to catch early signs of lung cancer or disease. A virtual colonoscopy performed by means of the CT scanner imaging process can find early signs of polyps or cancer in the colon. Of course, the ideal situation is to find nothing, but the fact that full body scanning and CT scanning is a non-invasive procedure, you may want to consult with your doctor to consider these procedures prior to any invasive procedure.

Source: Time Magazine, Augst 28, 2005