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The study shows CT scans can be at less cost and time while detecting coronaries.

A CT scan, a kind of super X-ray which provides a faster, cheaper way to diagnose a heart attack when someone goes to the emergency room with chest pains, a new study suggests.

In the study, half of 749 chest pain sufferers at 16 big medical centers around the country were given CT scans and the rest, standard imaging tests with a radioactive dye.

The portion of patients who needed a definitive but invasive angiography test to see whether they should have an artery-opening balloon angioplasty procedure or bypass operation was the same: 6 to 7 percent of each group.

The big difference was in cost and time. CT scan patients were diagnosed in about three hours versus more than six for the others. Their testing also cost less: $2,137 on average versus $3,458 for standard screening.

Source: Chicago Tribune

You can discuss more about CT and related topics in our CT Group.