Around 6,000 heart attacks in the UK have been avoided in the last decade, researchers estimate, thanks to the introduction of a routine heart scan to investigate chest pain. Research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has been published in the The Lancet showing the benefits of coronary computed tomography angiogram (CCTA) scans extending as far as a decade beyond a patient's scan.The 10-year follow up of the SCOT-HEART trial found that the number of non-fatal heart attacks in the group who had a CCTA scan was 28 per cent lower compared to those who had standard tests (90 vs. 124, respectively). Applied across the UK population and the current rate of CCTA use, researchers estimate that this equates to 6,000 heart attacks avoided over the last ten years.For further information please see the following links below:Starting routine scans prevented thousands of heart attacksBritish Heart Foundation: https://edin.ac/3CC0zMILink to paper in The LANCET This article was published on 2025-01-29
