CT Angiography (Patient Information)
Patient Information
Your physician has recommended that you undergo a pain-free, non-surgical procedure called CT angiography at the Cardiovascular
Medical Group of Southern California (CVMG) in Beverly Hills. Through the use of x-rays and computers, the CT scan is able to
generate cross sections and even three-dimensional images of internal organs and structures in your body. These very detailed
and accurate images can help physicians diagnose and treat disease. Please expect to be in the center for 30-60 minutes.
What to Expect from CT Angiography
(Coronary Arteries, Aorta, Carotid Arteries, Arteries of the Extremities)
The CT scan procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, which means you will visit the CVMG Beverly Hills office, not the
hospital. If you are not having a contrast injection for blood vessels no preparation is needed. If you are having an injection
to visualize the arteries please consider the following.
There is very little you must do before the CT Angiogram:
- A blood test might be ordered, or results of recent test provided to be certain you do not have kidney problems that would be affected by the injected contrast.
- Do not exercise the date of the procedure and come in relaxed without schedule conflicts. The quality of the test is best with a regular and low heart rate.
- You might be advised to take medications (beta-blockers) to slow and regularize your heart rate the day of the procedure.
- You may be advised to take an over the counter nutrient (n-acetyl cysteine) to help protect your kidney from the effects of contrast.
- Come into the office well hydrated by drinking several liters of non-alcoholic fluid before the procedure. This will help in clearing out the dye that will be used to obtain the images.
- If you are taking medications for diabetes, check with your doctor to see if they should be discontinued before the procedure.
- Refrain from any medications such as Viagra, Levitra or Cialis as you will be receiving NTG which, in conjunction with these medications, could lower your blood pressure to dangerous levels.
- If you have an allergy to contrast, please let us know since medications and alternative contrast can be given to prevent a reaction. If you have had a life threatening reaction to contrast, serious reaction to iodine or shell fish, you should consult with your physician and the staff before proceeding.
- Remain calm and relaxed. If this is not a good day or if you are not really prepared we will reschedule at your convenience.
You will be asked to fill out a simple form to be certain we know about your health. If you are new to the office you will usually
meet with one of our physicians. To begin the procedure, a technician will have you lie down on your back on a table. You will be
hooked up to an EKG monitor necessary to construct the images from the digital data. If your heart rate is too fast or irregular
the study might be cancelled. The technician will begin an intravenous line (IV) with a small needle. You might receive prophylactic
treatment for contrast allergy or medications to slow you heart rate further (beta-blockers) through this IV. You will usually
receive sublingual NTG which on occasion does tend to result in a minor short lived headache. Be certain you have not taken Viagra
type drugs prior to the procedure.
After these preparations a small amount of contrast will be injected into your blood stream, which will allow physicians to see
the insides of the arteries clearly. Arteries as small as several millimeters are commonly seen. The table you lie upon will be
moved into a large, donut-shaped opening. Even patients with difficulty being in small spaces (claustrophobia) are able to tolerate
moving through the tube for the seconds that it takes to scan. During that time, it is important that you lie very still. You may
be asked to hold your breath while the scan takes hundreds of pictures per second of your body. If more than two organs are being
studied, you might have to come back another day to limit contrast use. Too much calcium in the coronary arteries, devices (stents,
pacemakers, defibrillators, etc), irregular heartbeats, too fast of a heart rate or body movement may limit interpretation of the
scans. If you have had abnormal kidney functions at anytime prior to the test, you may be asked to return for follow up blood tests.
When complete, you will be able to get up from the table and resume you normal activities. The CT scan results will be given to
your referring physician who will share the results with you and or you can ask to have results sent directly to you. Printed
images and CDs of the images are available on request.
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