Uses of cardiac CT

• coronary calcium scoring for suspected coronary artery disease - nearly all atherosclerotic plaques contain some calcium. Low dose, non-contrast CT scans of the heart can quantify the amount and distribution of calcium in the coronary arteries. There is a direct correlation between the extent of calcium in the coronary arteries and the risk of future cardiac events
  
  
• diagnosis and assessment of coronary artery disease - contrast enhanced CT of the coronary arteries enables visualization of the artery lumen, atherosclerotic plaques and stenoses.When combined with calcium score, CT coronary angiography has a very high negative predictive value (approaching 100%) for ruling out coronary artery disease
  
  
• assessment of patency of bypass grafts and anomalous coronary arteries - CT allows accurate assessment of coronary bypass graft occlusion and patency, along with evaluation of the course of anomalous coronary arteries
  
  
• assessment of left ventricular mass and function - accurate assessment of stroke volume, ejection fraction and wall motion abnormalities can be obtained
  
  
• assessment of cardiac morphology - CT can be used to assess complex congenital heart disease; cardiac masses; thrombus; pericardial disease; pulmonary and aortic pathology

Reference:

• 1) British Heart Foundation Factfile (January 2010). Cardiac imaging with MRI, CT and Nuclear techniques