Providing independent clinical excellence since 2005
Who are Caristo? Caristo is a commercial data processing company that uses their algorithms to quantity coronary inflammation from a contrast coronary CT angiogram. The company uses their proprietary software to define their CaRi Hearts score which, over and above […]
Detecting coronary calcification on CT has been known as a sign of having coronary artery disease for over 30 years, but now the thinking has changed, and it might be logical to conclude that, if you have non calcified coronary artery disease, the best you can hope for is a strategy that calcifies your plaque!
Recognition that significant coronary artery disease exists without calcification led to the wider user of contrast-enhanced CT scans to detect both calcified and noncalcified plaques. Even more advanced scans identify not only the non calcified plaques, but also areas of inflammation (using data processing to measure FAI), that a non-contrast CT (such as a CAC scan) would otherwise miss. Sequential CAC to follow up disease progression quickly established that an increase in CAC with age was inevitable in most patients and not linked to clinical course, so is not widely practiced.
Since 2016, cardiologists have been utilising the HeartFlow Analysis in conjunction with cardiac CT scans to enhance the accuracy and predictive value of noninvasive coronary imaging. This technology allows many patients to avoid unnecessary invasive angiography, reducing the associated risks and stress.