Something that millions of people around the world are suffering from these days, more so than ever before, is heart disease. There are many different reasons for this, including genetics, poor diet choices, obesity, and smoking. When a person has been diagnosed with heart disease, there are several preventative scans that he or she might become a candidate for.
One of these scans is known as a CT angiography. This scan, short for Computed Tomography, uses magnetic resonance imaging to produce detailed pictures of various areas of the body. Most often, the CT angiography is used to detect irregularities in the blood vessels, such as the presence of a clot or an aneurysm.
It is important to note that although this scan is usually done on people who have circulatory problems and heart disease, it is also done on people who have suffered trauma (via an accident, for instance) that could have resulted in the rupturing of blood vessels. These candidates are often first given a contrast material to highlight the potentially problematic veins.
Something that many patients who have never had this kind of scan before have questions about is how they should prepare for a CT angiography. The most important thing that they will have to do is arrive to the outpatient facility in which the scan will be taking place wearing loose fitting, comfortable clothing that is without any metal. In some cases (such as if the patient happens to have no metal free clothes for some reason) the patient will have to wear a medical robe during the procedure.
If a person will be getting a contrast material, another thing that he or she will need to do in preparation is to not eat or drink for a few hours prior to having the procedure done. This is a very important part of the preparation, because if the patient does eat or drink right before the scan, the contrast material will not work properly.
The interesting thing about a CT angiography is that it will take longer to get the patient ready for the scan than it will take to do the scan itself. Usually, it will take about fifteen minutes (give or take a few minutes in the case of those people who have to have contrast material given to them intravenously) to get the person properly positioned.
The patient will be made to lie down on an examining table, and will be given a pillow to make him or her feel more comfortable. The examining table will then be pushed into the actual scanning device, which resembles a large tube (large enough so that the patient should not feel claustrophobic). The tube will then rotate around the patient during the actual scan, which takes about a minute to complete.
When the scan has been completed, the technician giving the scan will detain the patient for a moment while the images are checked for clarity. Once this has been done, the patient is usually able to return to work and their other regular activities.
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