Episode 11: of the Podcast: The Anatomic vs Functional Podcast

Hosted by Dr. Anand Swaminathan

Guest Speaker: Dr. Brendan Freeman 

Learning Points:

CCTA is a powerful tool for the Observation Unit, as long as the patient’s HR is regular and < 60 bpm. Use the institutional protocol to help get your patient’s HR to goal!

You can order a CCTA in patients with proximal stents, as long as the stents are in different arteries. And you can also order CCTAs in CABG patients when you’re looking for graft patency. 

A CCTA is an anatomic test to determine if a patient has none, mild/mod, or severe disease. The warranty period for a CCTA is anywhere from 3-10 years depending on the characteristics of the plaque.

A nuclear stress test is a functional study that allows for ischemia-driven management. The warranty period of a nuclear stress test is 2 years. 

A test is only as good as the data and its interpretation! Trust yourself!