CT Can Predict Future Cardiovascular Disease, Study

According to a new study, Computed Tomography (CT) scans can be used for predicting cardiovascular diseases in individuals with high risk. The findings of the study are highlighted online and will be published in the November issue of Radiology. Martijn J. A. Gondrie, M.D., from the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, and the lead author of the study, said "The results of this study show that radiologists can predict cardiovascular disease fairly well using incidental findings of calcifications of the aortic wall on CT, along with minimal patient information, such as age, gender and the reason for the CT. Ultimately, this easily executed extra risk stratification has the potential to reduce future heart attacks or other cardiovascular events."

Using EMR Facilitates Genetic Study Of Vascular Diseases

Scientific research published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) argues that studying of genetic variants that play a role of human susceptibility to peripheral arterial disease (PAD), made possible by using electronic medical records (EMRs) or electronic health records (EHRs). A team of authors from the Mayo Clinic Divisions of Cardiovascular Diseases and Biomedical Informatics and Statistics conducted the study and concluded that: "EMR-based data, used across institutions in a structured way offers great potential for diverse research studies, including those related to understanding the genetic bases of common diseases."