Coronary CT angiography is the most accurate noninvasive test for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (or blockages in the heart arteries), providing information that often leads to treatments and changes in lifestyle that significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks. Unfortunately, coronary CT angiography is inconsistently covered by insurance pproviders. HeartView Global funds will be used to provide the test to patients who are identified by their doctors as needing it, and for whom the cost of the test is a significant financial burden.

Traditional methods of assessing a patient’s risk for a heart attack based on symptoms and risk factors frequently underestimate and do not individualize risk based upon the coronary artery disease that an individual actually has. Optimized use of available treatments could prevent a majority of premature cardiac events, but the right individuals need to be identified. We will employ coronary CT angiograms to develop a novel diagnostic approach that is personalized to the patient, and that will identify unique findings of plaques that can trigger early medical and invasive therapies to prevent heart attacks from occurring.