A major clinical trial, funded by the British Heart Foundation, has shown that a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan offers a better tool for diagnosing suspected coronary heart disease (CHD) than the most commonly used alternative.
The five-year study, led by Dr John Greenwood from the University of Leeds, studied 750 patients with CHD and compared how effective MRI is against the current ‘gold standard’ diagnostic tests. Patients suffering with chest pains can undergo a number of tests to find out whether the symptoms are due to coronary heart disease or not. This latest research shows that an MRI scan is better than the most commonly used alternative – a SPECT scan using a radioactive tracer. The researchers hope that the study will lead to a rethink of current guidance for diagnosing suspected heart disease.
