{"id":5957,"date":"2025-03-16T15:33:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T12:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/?p=5957"},"modified":"2025-03-16T15:33:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T12:33:06","slug":"trends-in-diagnostic-heart-testing-ct-on-the-rise-as-some-traditional-techniques-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/trends-in-diagnostic-heart-testing-ct-on-the-rise-as-some-traditional-techniques-decline\/","title":{"rendered":"Trends in Diagnostic Heart Testing : CT on the Rise as Some Traditional Techniques Decline"},"content":{"rendered":"
Trends in Diagnostic Heart Testing : CT on the Rise as Some Traditional Techniques Decline<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Source: AHAIASA Journals-Circulation:<\/div>\n
Cardiovascular Imaging | March 13, 2025 | | Cardiac Imaging<\/div>\n
<\/span>1. <\/span>Shifting Trends in Cardiac Diagnostic Testing<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Cardiac diagnostic testing has evolved significantly over the past decade.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Some modalities, such as CT-based techniques, have seen increased use, while traditional methods have declined.<\/div>\n
<\/span>2. <\/span>Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE) Remains the Most Common Modality<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>TTE accounted for 61.5% of cardiac tests in 2011 and increased to 67.7% in 2022.<\/div>\n
<\/span>3. <\/span>Decline of Traditional Functional Testing<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (SPECT MPI) usage declined from 20.8% in 2011 to 12.9% in 2022.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Other traditional modalities, including invasive coronary angiography (ICA), stress echocardiography, and exercise treadmill tests (ETT), have also declined.<\/div>\n
<\/span>4. <\/span>Rise of Advanced Imaging Techniques<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Coronary CT angiography (CCTA), coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS), cardiac MRI (CMR), cardiac PET MPI, and stress CMR have increased in utilization.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>The SPECT MPI to CCTA ratio dropped from 61:1 in 2011 to 10:1 in 2022, signaling a shift toward CT-based techniques.<\/div>\n
<\/span>5. <\/span>Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>All cardiac testing techniques saw reduced utilization in 2019-2020.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>CCTA, CACS, CMR, stress CMR, and PET MPI rebounded and exceeded 2019 levels by 2022.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Traditional nuclear imaging and ICA continued to decline post-pandemic.<\/div>\n
<\/span>6. <\/span>Increased Role of Radiologists in Cardiac Imaging<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Cardiologists\u2019 involvement in coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) dropped from 65% in 2010 to 13% in 2022.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>A similar trend was observed in CCTA interpretation (63% in 2010 vs. 36% in 2022).<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Radiologists have taken on a more prominent role in cardiac imaging.<\/div>\n
<\/span>7. <\/span>PET MPI vs. SPECT MPI<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>PET MPI usage has risen as SPECT MPI declined, despite PET\u2019s high costs and accessibility challenges.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>The availability of new 18F-based PET tracers (e.g., 18F-flurpiridaz) may further drive PET MPI adoption.<\/div>\n
<\/span>8. <\/span>Growth of Cardiac CT<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>CT-based cardiac tests have experienced some of the highest growth rates among all modalities.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>CCTA is increasingly preferred due to its ability to assess stenosis, characterize plaque, and aid in structural heart disease assessment.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Despite ongoing debates about its optimal role, CCTA has emerged as a major alternative to functional testing.<\/div>\n
<\/span>9. <\/span>Key Takeaways from the Study<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Traditional stress testing is being replaced by advanced functional imaging (PET MPI, stress CMR) due to superior accuracy, shorter study times, and lower radiation exposure.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>Despite U.S. guidelines favoring functional testing for CAD evaluation in older patients, CCTA exhibited one of the highest growth rates.<\/div>\n
<\/span>\u2022 <\/span>SPECT MPI volume declined by nearly 50% between 2011 and 2022, while PET MPI saw one of the highest growth rates.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This study highlights a clear shift in cardiovascular diagnostic testing, with CT-based and advanced functional imaging gaining prominence while traditional stress testing declines.<\/div>\n
https:\/\/www.ahajournals.org\/doi\/10.1161\/CIRCIMAGING.124.017567#F1<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trends in Diagnostic Heart Testing : CT on the Rise as Some Traditional Techniques Decline Source: AHAIASA Journals-Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging | March 13, 2025 | | Cardiac Imaging 1. Shifting Trends in Cardiac Diagnostic Testing \u2022 Cardiac diagnostic testing has evolved significantly over the past decade. \u2022 Some modalities, such as CT-based techniques, have seen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5957"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5958,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5957\/revisions\/5958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordan-cardiac.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}