too much radiation?

[johanni]

In the past year I have had a 64 ct angiogram and several chest ct scans.do you think this radiation is excessive and may lead to future health problems?
thanks,
dimi.

[al1953]

Could you please give a little more detailed information about your experience with CT scans? Were the chest scans all CT scans or just conventional chest x-rays? If they were CT scans were they all with or without contrast dye or both? You say you had several ct scans...can you give the exact number of scans? Can you also give the time frame in months over which you had the scans? Finally, if I may ask, could you say why you were having these tests? With this info you can calculate the radiation dosage that you were exposed to and have a better idea of what risk you incurred.Many doctors do not have any knowledge of the amount of radiation they are exposing you to when they order these tests. Take care.

[Anna Beattie, M.D.]

The risk with radiation is a complex subject. If a scan is required and can identify a potentially lifethreatening condition which another test cannot do, then there is no question that this is the best test. It is also important to realise that we cannot say definitely who will be affected by radiation, but the risk is relatively greater in younger individuals, partucularly females and the region of the body that is being imaged. It is also possible that some of the scans have utilised a low radiation protocol which can help reduce the dose, but this is only possible with certain clinical indications.