Coronary Catheter Angiography is the gold standard method for identifying stenosis in the coronary arteries. This investigation is invasive and involves an incision in the groin or arm with a catheter passed through a main artery to the heart. A dye (containing iodine to help visualise the arteries) is then injected into the coronary arteries via the catheter and images are captured using X-rays.

Advantages of CT vs Invasive Angiography:

• Better detection of coronary abnormalities and evaluation of severity of disease.


• Non-invasiveness of the investigation: this is a significant benefit for the patient with less risk and discomfort as well as substantially decreased recovery time.


• Speed of investigation: the scan for the entire heart only takes 10 to 12 seconds and the total investigation only 30 minutes, with no sedation or inpatient admission required.


• Less costly alternative to the traditional coronary angiography examination..


• Ability to visualise soft plaque which would otherwise be undetectable during any other cardiac investigations.


• Better delineation of stenosis at the origin of the right and left coronary artery.


• High resolution, three dimensional images of the moving heart and vessels.


• "One-stop shop" analysis - coronary arteries, valves, ventricular analysis, myocardial mass, plaque morphology, lung parenchyma.


• Enables determination of the patency of cardiac bypass grafts or stents in the coronary artery.