Cardiogoniometry for Detecting Coronary Artery Disease by CT Angiography
Cardiogoniometry for Detecting Coronary Artery Disease by CT Angiography
Cardiogoniometry is a technique to process and evaluate vectorcardiography from regular ECG
 acquisitions. Vectorcardiography has a long tradition in cardiology for providing
 comprehensive information on myocardial function and integrity. In recent years, computer
 assisted analysis has allowed automated interpretation of vectorcardiography with promising
 results in comparison to standard ECG for identifying patients with coronary heart disease.
 This study aims to investigate the utility of cardiogoniometry for noninvasively identifying
 patients who are at risk from coronary heart disease.
Cardiogoniometry is a technique to process and evaluate vectorcardiography from regular ECG
 acquisitions. Vectorcardiography has a long tradition in cardiology for providing
 comprehensive information on myocardial function and integrity. Compared to standard
 electrocardiography, vectorcardiography has shown to be more sensitive to detect structural
 and ischemic heart disease. Unfortunately, the interpretation of vectorcardiography is
 complex which has hindered its widespread application. In recent years, computer assisted
 analysis has allowed automated interpretation of vectorcardiography with promising results in
 comparison to standard ECG for identifying patients with ischemic heart disease. However, the
 underlying mechanisms and threshold of altered cardiac vectors in the presence of coronary
 artery disease are not well understood. This research aims at exploring the relationship of
 computer assisted analysis of vectorcardiography with the presence, extent, severity, and
 location of coronary artery disease in comparison to standard ECG evaluation. Furthermore,
 the investigators intent to follow up enrolled patients for the occurrence of adverse
 cardiovascular events for correlation with test findings. These data will provide
 comprehensive information on the diagnostic performance of noninvasive, inexpensive
 evaluation of cardiac vector loops for identifying patients at risk from coronary artery
 disease. Specifically, the study aims to:

 1. Compare the diagnostic accuracy of cardiogoniometry with standard ECG for detecting
 coronary artery disease as assessed by CT angiography

 2. Investigate the relationship between abnormal cardiogoniometry findings and the
 extent/severity/location of coronary artery disease by CT angiography

 3. Compare the intermediate term prognosis of patients according to cardiogoniometry,
 standard ECG, and CT findings
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Patients age 18 or older who are referred for elective cardiac CT examination for
 evaluation of coronary artery disease

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  hemodynamic instability

 -  history of anaphylactic contrast reaction

 -  inability of following breath hold instructions