Diagnosing heart problems just got personal. At Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, patients who undergo a computed tomography (CT) scan to identify potential coronary artery blockages and blood-flow issues no longer automatically follow up with an invasive catheterization to determine treatment.
A new technology called HeartFlow Analysis, which Cone physicians acquired this spring, uses CT scan data to upload a 3D model of the patient’s heart labeled with a color-coded vessel-by-vessel assessment.
“It will tell us functional information about an anatomical lesion, so if we see a blockage that is borderline that doesn’t need any intervention or stent, the physician can look at the numbers and come to the conclusion of whether the lesion needs to be treated,” says Katarina Nelson, Cone’s director of non-invasive cardiovascular imaging. “We have had really good results, and we’ve had good correlations with other studies, so we are very pleased with that. Previously, borderline lesions would send patients for catheterization. Now, we get the data the same day.
“Not every patient needs HeartFlow Analysis. Some are clearly normal, and some are clearly abnormal, but the ones in between where we don’t know, they can get the results right away,” Nelson says. “The patient doesn’t have to do any more testing.”
That saves money, she says. Data shows a 26% accumulated savings after accounting for the $1,500 cost of HeartFlow Analysis.
Business North Carolina, Sponsored Section, “Advances in technology give cardiac patients better outcomes“