The Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals has launched 64 slice CT Angiogram, the non-invasive tool with a more detailed image of the heart, for the first time in India. The tool can be used in patients who have undergone cardiac bypass surgeries and Angioplasties, to whom the MRI scan will be dangerous.

The CT Angio provides 64 images of the heart, which can be combined together for a clear picture of heart. The 64-slice CT Angio has the capacity to perform an accurate scan in less than 10 seconds and to identify blocks in patient's arteries.

The tool facilitates lower exposure levels and minimizes discomfort for the patient and simultaneously yields much higher accuracies for diagnoses. CT Angio, which is recognized as the effective tool for checking heart ailments, is useful to handle patients with high risk factors for routine preventive cardiac checks, as it clearly shows if the blood vessel is blocked, and also useful as a post surgery diagnostic aid to assess the state of the heart.

The 64 slice-CT Angio also helpful in identifying the level of heart disease in people with high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure but display few risk factors. The new facility enables the patients to avoid the lengthy process of undergoing the catheterization process, said the officials.

"It is non-interventional and takes only a few seconds of the patients time. I believe this is highly relevant for the Indian Population who are 10 times more prone to heart disease between the age group of 30 and 60 years," said Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals in a press release.