CT scan shortage endangers angina patients, say radiologists

At least 56 000 patients with angina in the UK who should have had a computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) scan last year missed out because of a shortage of scanners and radiologists, say the Royal College of Radiologists and the British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging.

They warn that underlying heart conditions may be missed if patients presenting with chest pain have their heart function assessed by exercise tests rather than CTCA scans. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated its guideline in 2016 to recommend that all patients with chest pain should be investigated using CTCA.1

A Scottish study published this year in the New England Journal of Medicine found that investigating patients with stable chest …