Free-breathing Coronary CTA with Double Flash Spiral Protocol

Man Ching So, MD*, Chi Ming Wong, MD*, Wai Leng Chin**
* Sir Run Run Shaw Heart & Diagnostic Center, St. Teresa’s Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
** Siemens Healthcare, Singapore
|01.10.13

An 80-year-old female patient, with known hypertension, obesity, supra-ventricular ectopic, and supra-ventricular tachycardia, presented herself due to recent onset of chest discomfort. Coronary CTA was performed to exclude the presence of ischemic heart disease. Upon arrival, the patient had a heart rate of 61 beats per minute and could not hold her breath. Therefore the examination was conducted using the double Flash Spiral (prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch mode) protocol under free-breathing. Two Flash Spiral scans were consecutively performed with a single bolus of intravenous contrast medium.