May 23, 2011

CT Scan Could Predict Early Death in Diabetic Patients

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in the US have revealed that a common test could predict early death in individuals with diabetes. A high coronary artery calcium score is known to be a strong indicator of coronary heart disease, which provides a measure of how much ca

By cms admin

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in the US have revealed that a common test could predict early death in individuals with diabetes.

A high coronary artery calcium score is known to be a strong indicator of coronary heart disease, which provides a measure of how much calcified plaque, is present in the blood vessels of the heart.

The study included 1,000 participants that were segregated into five groups based on the amount of calcified plaque they had in their blood vessels at the beginning of the study.

Researchers found that a special “gated” CT scan, which uses few X-rays and does not require any injections measures the amount of calcified plaque in the blood vessels of the heart, which can predict the patients at risk.

Wake Forest Baptist Center for Diabetes Research director Donald Bowden said that diabetes is associated with many other medical problems, so identifying a way to determine who is at highest risk and who needs the most intensive medical monitoring and care is especially important.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, as well as the General Clinical Research Center of Wake Forest Baptist.