Read your heart in 9 seconds

‘‘Pictures need to be taken when the heart is nearly motionless. The heart relaxes for approximately .4 seconds during a single beat and the new scan takes the images in that time,’’ said Dr (Col) ML Bera, Senior Consultant Radiologist at Apollo Hospital. The new process scores over the existing ones in other ways too. Apart from being non-invasive and therefore painless, it also helps provide a foolproof diagnosis.

For years, the only way of detecting a blockage in the artery has been cardiac catheterization (angiography). In it, a probe is inserted through an incision in the groin. ‘‘The procedure takes 5-6 hours and even after all the pain, it turns out that about 30 per cent of the patients did not need it as there were no significant blockages,’’ said Dr Bera.

The new scan also helps in early diagnosis and thereby aggressive prevention.

‘‘Instead of waiting for things to go wrong, the scan can help stop a heart attack before it actually happens. All this without a surgery or even hospital admission. You can just go home in a few minutes,’’ said Dr Anupam Sibal, Medical Director of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi.

‘‘It can’t replace therapeutic angioplasty or ballooning of artery. But the scan tells you whether bypass or angioplasty is required or just medication is enough,’’ said Dr Bera.

The process

• The patient is injected with a dye which helps highlight blood vessels

• The machine takes 64 photos in a second

• The scanner computer uses the photos to construct a 3D image

• In the image, blockages appear as they would once the heart is opened

• The process costs Rs 9,700, against the Rs 15,000 in a conventional angiography