need info

[kbharadwaj]

my father who went in for a bypass last feb'2009 has been advised to go in for a CT Angiography after certain changes were visible in his tmt......he had already undergone a thallium stress test before.....cud someone please tell me if ther are any differences between the 2 tests....and which one wud be better at this stage.......regards

[kenkeith]

A stress test observes the perfusion of an injected medium through blood vessels when the individual exercises and when at rest.  If there is some blockage, it will show the location and intensity.  Also, the stress test can determine the degree of exercise an individual can safely do within the scope of vital signs, etc.

Coronary CTA examinations have tended to help determine a lack of significant narrowing and calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, as well as a presence of fatty deposits. This has been found to be particularly valuable in asymptomatic patients with higher risk for coronary disease, in patients with atypical symptoms but lower risk of coronary disease, or in patients with unclear stress-test results.

•Intermediate to high-risk profiles for coronary artery disease, but who do not have typical symptoms (especially chest pain, shortness of breath, or fatigue during heavy physical activity.)
•Unusual symptoms for coronary artery disease (such as chest pain unrelated to physical exertion), but low to intermediate risk profiles for coronary artery disease.
•Unclear or inconclusive stress-test (treadmill test) results.
For these types of patients, Coronary CTA can provide important insights to their primary physician into the extent and nature of plaque formation with or without any narrowing of the coronary arteries. Coronary CTA also can non-invasively exclude narrowing of the arteries as the cause of chest discomfort and detect other possible causes of symptoms.

MY CT scan test included the lungs and lower to the descending aorta.  

Hope this helps.