Coronary Calcium Scans Can Raise Cancer Risks
"The National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurement estimates that 70 million are done per year."
The study in which Epstein took part looked at a form of computed tomography that scans for calcium deposits in heart arteries. CAC scanning, as it is called, is one of the lesser-done forms of computed tomography, but a private organization, Screening for Heart Attack, Prevention and Education, has proposed that it be done annually on 50 million Americans, and a new Texas law mandates health insurance coverage of the procedure.
The new study looked at what a dose of radiation in a single CAC scan would be, and found an enormous variation. There is no single protocol -- set of rules -- for such a scan, which can be done on a variety of equipment, Einstein said. "This was first proposed in 1990, and CT scanner technology has changed, so it is not clear what the protocol might be," he noted.
The study found roughly a 14-fold difference in radiation dosage among the various CAC scan protocols. Eliminate two or three "outlying" readings, and the difference is still threefold, Einstein said.
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