CT Shows Mixed Results for Chest Pain

If you have chest pain, but aren’t having a heart attack, an advanced CT scan can help get you out of the emergency room sooner, a study finds. But it might not be worth the extra radiation and later tests. The study included 1,000 people with chest pain. All had electrocardiograms and blood tests that suggested a heart attack was unlikely. Then they were randomly divided into 2 groups. People in one group got standard tests, such as a stress test. The others got a type of CT scan that gives a detailed view of arteries around the heart. People spent an average of 23 hours in the hospital with the CT scans and 30 hours with standard tests. About 47% were sent home after the CT scans, compared with 12% who had standard tests. The others were admitted. But those in the CT group received 3 times as much radiation as the standard-care group.