Radiation Exposure in Patients With Myocardial Infarction

The ever-increasing global concerns for environmental threats, among which is public radiation exposure, are quite appropriate. Medical applications of radiation appear to contribute significantly to the overall radiation-related hazard. Kaul et al1 remind us that the collective radiation dose from medical imaging has increased by a factor 7 over the last 2 decades. Skeptics have observed that this evolution in practice is not matched by a proportionate improvement in outcomes. Each time another critical study on radiation-induced projected risk of cancer appears in the scientific literature, this publication triggers commentaries, position statements, and reports of all kinds, including in the lay press, eventually fueling the growing concerns in the community. The understandable emotional nature of the issue may amplify the perceived risk and cause irrational behaviors. Patients may refuse to undergo radiationbased diagnostic or therapeutic procedures out of fear, underestimating the risk they are presently exposed to and failing to fully appreciate the consequences of not being diagnosed or treated properly right now.