Use of CT angiography among patients with prior coronary artery bypass grafting surgery

Given the inherent challenges in performing invasive coronary angiography (ICA) in patients who have coronary artery bypass grafts, there has been great interest in developing safe and accurate non-invasive techniques to assess graft patency. Clinically, such an evaluation is often required when patients present with symptoms suggestive of ischemia. However, while coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) has been extensively studied in patients without known prior coronary artery disease (CAD), the role of CTA remains less clear for patients with prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. Addressing the need for more data in this area, Drs. Barbero and colleagues published in The International Journal of Cardiology a comprehensive review on this topic: “64 slice-coronary computed tomography sensitivity and specificity in the evaluation of coronary artery bypass graft stenosis”.