A heart CT scan uses X-rays to create an image of the heart and blood vessels. Healthcare professionals may also refer to it as cardiac CT angiography. A CT scan is a noninvasive imaging procedure.

If a doctor suspects you may have a pulmonary embolism (PE), a CT scan is the gold standard of imaging techniques. This painless scan uses intravenous (IV) contrast, a type of dye, to help the doctor ...

Preparation guidelines for a CT scan depend on the type of scan you’re having. If you’re having a bowel scan or a scan with contrast dye, you may need to adjust your diet. Preparation for a CT scan ...

A older patient is guided into a CT scanner — an essential diagnostic tool whose life-saving power is now being weighed against growing concerns about long-term radiation exposure. Computed tomography ...

A CT scan of healthy lungs looks typical in size with no inflammation, allowing the diaphragm to dome. Lungs with emphysema can look overinflated, with muscle loss, making the diaphragm misshapen. The ...

Laura holds a Master's in Experimental Neuroscience and a Bachelor's in Biology from Imperial College London. Her areas of expertise include health, medicine, psychology, and neuroscience. Laura holds ...

Medical imaging scans that create detailed images of the body’s internal structures are widely used in medicine. Doctors need them to detect and manage certain types of cancer, assess the extent of ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dr. Omer Awan is a practicing physician who covers public health. Lung Cancer, Scan, Essay Can Be Used Only To Illustrate Cancer, ...

Computed tomography (CT or CAT) scans help doctors detect everything from cancer to kidney stones. But some physicians are raising concerns about the safety of such procedures — most notably, an ...

Computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are two types of imaging procedures. They both create detailed images of the internal body structures. While CT scans use X-rays to ...