To better view the heart and its function, all 64 slices of the scan are combined to form a three dimensional image.

Coronary CTA can scan the heart within five seconds to provide high quality images of the heart and coronary arteries with amazing resolution.  Because of its speed, patients are required to hold their breath for shorter periods, thereby making the test more comfortable.

Coronary CTA is non-invasive and does not have the same risk of complications (such as heart attack, stroke, and bleeding) that can sometimes occur with cardiac catheterization.  It also uses less contrast dye, which is administered intravenously so the patient can return to work, home, or resume their normal activities immediately following the test.

Technology is only as good as the physician utilizing it. Kaleida Health is proud to have the physician it believes to be the best at interpreting scans for Kaleida Health - Charles J. Chung, M.D. 

Dr. Chung was appointed Director of Coronary CT Imaging at Kaleida Health in February of 2005.  Prior to joining Kaleida, Dr. Chung was medical director of radiology at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine.

During his distinguished career Dr. Chung has served as Interim Director, Scottish Rite Children’s Medical Center in Atlanta Georgia; Section Chief, Pediatric Radiology at University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as well as serving as assistant professor in nuclear medicine and body imaging and as assistant clinical professor at UNC.

He is fellowship-trained in nuclear medicine from Medical University of South Carolina; pediatric radiology from Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and cardiovascular MR imaging from Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging in New York City.

Dr. Chung received his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and his Doctor of Medicine from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed his residency in radiology at Medical University of South Carolina.  

What are the Indications for Coronary CTA?

• Evaluate coronary aneurysms
• Rule out cardiac cause of atypical or non-diagnostic chest pain in patients without history of significant coronary artery disease
• Rule out significant coronary disease in patients with minimal lesions on SPECT studies that may be due to artifacts
• Detect soft plaques or vulnerable plaques in patients with risk factors or questionable symptoms
• Evaluate heart and coronary arteries in patients with valve disease who may have significant risk with coronary catheterization
• Evaluate cardiac or pericardiac masses
• Document patency of coronary bypass grafts in patients with low likelihood of significant stenosis
• Evaluate bypass graft aneurysm formation
• Anomalous coronary anatomy

CTA may also be useful for evaluation of:

• Possible valvular mass lesions
• Intraventricular or intraatrial mass and thrombus
• Ventricular aneurysm
• RVARD – right ventricular arrhythmogenic dysplasia
• Assessment of cardiac anatomy, including coronary vein for planning
  of radiofrequency ablation procedures