Role of multidetector CT in the evaluation of coronary artery bypass grafts

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is associated with an improvement of survival and quality of life in patients with multivessel coronary disease and left main stenosis. However CABGs, similarly to the native coronary vessels, may in time, develop stenosis or occlusion. Invasive coronary angiography is considered the gold standard in the evaluation of CABG, but the technique is associated with some complications. Multidetector CT is considered a noninvasive and convenient tool in the study of CABGs in patients with recurrence of chest pains. However, there are limitations related mainly to the presence of vessel calcification, vascular clips, arrhythmias and radiation exposure. The recent introduction of a new generation of multidetector CT scanners with a significant increase in spatial and temporal resolution could allow cardiac CT to have an increasing role in the clinical practice. © 2010 Future Medicine Ltd.