nuclear-news

Overuse of heart radiation tests a cancer risk

While doctors disagree over how much, most agree that radiation can cause cancer, and researchers are growing concerned that an explosion in the use of medical imaging is making it more likely that patients may develop cancer.

Heart tests add to U.S. radiation dose concerns | Reuters; By Julie SteenhuysenCHICAGO | Thu Jul 8, 2010 CHICAGO  – Heart imaging procedures can deliver a significant amount of radiation to patients, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday, urging patients and doctors to weigh the risks against the benefit

They said nearly one in 10 adults under the age of 64 had a heart procedure involving radiation over a three-year period in five major healthcare markets.

“For many patients in the United States, there is a substantial cumulative radiation exposure from cardiac procedures,” said Dr. Jersey Chen of Yale University School of Medicine, whose study appears in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology………..

While doctors disagree over how much, most agree that radiation can cause cancer, and researchers are growing concerned that an explosion in the use of medical imaging is making it more likely that patients may develop cancer.

A report last year by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement found that Americans receive seven times more radiation from diagnostic scans than in 1980.

Heart tests add to U.S. radiation dose concerns | Reuters

July 8, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive