Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

Benjamin Cohen, MD
Conditions
June 12, 2025
Share
Tweet
Share

In cities like Los Angeles, accessing advanced cardiac imaging is not always a matter of medical need. It is often a question of logistics. Even in major metro areas, where advanced technology is available, practical barriers—like scheduling delays, traffic, and long waitlists—can prevent patients from getting scans when they need them.

Many wait weeks for appointments or travel across the city to reach a facility equipped for high-quality cardiac CT. In the San Fernando Valley, a scan that takes just minutes can still cost patients hours.

But these challenges are not unique to LA. Across the country, demand and support for cardiac CT continue to grow, especially as guidelines evolve and preventive care becomes more of a priority. Still, access to diagnostic imaging is limited, particularly outside major hospitals or academic centers. Many facilities allocate only limited time for cardiovascular imaging. Others still require a physician referral before a patient can even schedule a scan.

Importance of timely cardiac CT scans

While the logistical barriers to cardiac CT access inconvenience patients, they also affect the quality of care patients can receive. Many centers still use older-generation scanners not optimized for cardiovascular imaging. These machines often struggle with motion artifacts, require strict heart rate control, and deliver higher radiation doses. For patients with irregular heart rhythms, that can mean non-diagnostic images, the need to rescan, or missed findings altogether.

Meanwhile, the need for earlier diagnosis continues to grow, particularly as heart disease becomes more common in younger adults. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and in 2022, nearly one in five cardiovascular deaths occurred in adults under 65.

Cardiac CT is now recognized as a first-line test for evaluating stable chest pain and assessing coronary artery disease. Major clinical societies support its use as the preferred initial exam in many cases, citing its ability to detect disease early, guide preventive care, and reduce unnecessary invasive procedures. But the scan only makes a difference when patients can access it.

A patient-centered alternative

Today’s scanners are built specifically for cardiovascular use, combining wide anatomical coverage, fast rotation speeds, and single-heartbeat imaging. They capture high-resolution images with lower radiation doses, less contrast, and minimal patient prep.

These systems also reduce motion artifacts, even in patients with high or unstable heart rates, which lowers the likelihood of needing to rescan and helps ensure consistent diagnostic quality on the first attempt. As a result, clinicians can complete scans in minutes and deliver clear results with greater efficiency.

This technology has made it feasible to offer dedicated cardiac CT services outside of traditional hospital systems. Having a dedicated scanner has helped us simplify everything from scheduling to scan interpretation. Patients can schedule directly, review their scans before leaving, and avoid the delays often associated with referral-based workflows.

Giving patients the opportunity to see and understand their own scans adds a level of clarity and engagement that is often missing from traditional imaging experiences. Many also prefer the experience of a smaller and more focused setting. Knowing their scan is being done on specialized equipment and interpreted by a cardiologist gives them confidence in the results.

Offering cardiac CT in an outpatient setting helps avoid the delays that can keep patients from getting diagnosed early, especially those who might not have easy access to hospital-based imaging.

ADVERTISEMENT

What local cardiac imaging makes possible

Patients are increasingly looking for direct access to diagnostic tools, not because they want to bypass their doctors, but because they want faster answers, fewer steps, and more control over their health. At the same time, imaging technology is advancing. Automation and post-processing tools are making it easier to interpret results more efficiently, while newer scanners allow for fast, low-dose imaging without the infrastructure of a large facility.

Independent outpatient centers are well-positioned to meet that need. They can adapt quickly and deliver high-quality imaging in a more focused and accessible environment, especially in dense urban areas where care options may be plentiful but hard to reach due to population density.

With today’s technology, cardiac CT scans can be done quickly, safely, and accurately in clinics of all sizes. While these scanners continue to serve important roles in hospitals, they also have a clear place in community-based care. Because when it comes to heart health, to see is to know, and knowing earlier makes all the difference. Early efforts like My Heart Vision are helping to show how dedicated outpatient cardiac CT centers can expand access and meet growing patient needs.

Benjamin Cohen is a cardiologist.

Prev

Reassessing the impact of CDC's opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

June 11, 2025 Kevin 1
…
Next

What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school

June 12, 2025 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Cardiology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Reassessing the impact of CDC's opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]
Next Post >
What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • Ethical humanism: life after #medbikini and an approach to reimagining professionalism

    Jay Wong
  • The life cycle of medication consumption

    Fery Pashang, PharmD
  • My first end-of-life conversation

    Shereen Jeyakumar
  • Are the life sciences the best premedical majors?

    Moses Anthony
  • My grandfather’s death: What I’ve learned about life

    Munera Ahmed
  • A real-life example of irrational health care spending

    Taylor J. Christensen, MD

More in Conditions

  • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

    Michael Karch, MD
  • Why psychotherapy works and why psychotherapy fails

    Peggy A. Rothbaum, PhD
  • How oral health silently affects your heart, brain, and body

    Charles Reinertsen, DMD
  • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

    Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD
  • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

    Sarah White, APRN
  • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

    Andrea Caamano, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How medicine repurposing enables value-based pain management and insomnia therapy

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Meds
    • Finding balance and meaning in medical practice: a holistic approach to professional fulfillment

      Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib | Physician
    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How regulatory overreach is destroying innovation in U.S. health care

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why the U.S. mental health care system is failing and how to fix it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How medicine repurposing enables value-based pain management and insomnia therapy

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Meds
    • Finding balance and meaning in medical practice: a holistic approach to professional fulfillment

      Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib | Physician
    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How regulatory overreach is destroying innovation in U.S. health care

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why the U.S. mental health care system is failing and how to fix it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...