Radiation dose in computed tomography of the heart.

Currently, computed tomographic (CT) imaging of the heart is mainly used for the quantification of coronary artery calcification as an indirect measure of coronary plaque burden1,2 and, less frequently, for minimally invasive coronary angiography.3 CT imaging of the heart and coronary arteries without unsharpness due to motion artifact first became possible with the introduction of electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) in 1983.4 More recently, so-called multislice spiral computed tomographic (MSCT) scanners with gantry rotation speeds fast enough to produce diagnostic images of the heart under certain conditions have become widely available.5 As a consequence, cardiac CT imaging, most often performed for the purpose of calcium scoring,2 is increasingly applied to the general public. In many centers, patients have access to such studies without physician referral. This has created concerns for public health because of the radiation dose associated with CT imaging.6–8 Many clinicians and researchers working with patients with cardiovascular diseases may yet be unfamiliar with the radiation doses that are received during various cardiac CT imaging protocols and how they differ between the various scanner types that are currently used. To further complicate matters, radiation dose estimates can be expressed in various ways. For these reasons, the doses reported in previous publications on cardiac CT have varied widely, and it is not always clear what parameters were being reported.3,9–11 The purpose of this article is to discuss the current concepts of radiation dose measurement and estimation in CT imaging and to provide comparative estimates for radiation doses received during cardiac examinations with use of EBCT or MSCT. This information may be helpful to physicians who perform calcium scoring, counsel patients contemplating cardiac calcium scoring, or are considering referring their patients for such studies.