Chest Imaging includes imaging and diagnosis of the thorax including the lung parenchyma, pleura, contents of the mediastinum, and the hila.

Exams and Procedures include:

• Plain radiographs
• CT including CT angiography
• MR including MR angiography
• Ultrasound
• Nuclear medicine including PET
• Thoracentesis
• Biopsy of lung, pleura, mediastinum, or hila

Cardiac Imaging

Specially acquired computerized tomography can detect and quantify coronary calcification with a high degree of sensitivity. Calcification is a marker for the presence of atherosclerotic plaque. The greater the amount of calcium, the more likely is the presence of stenotic coronary artery disease. Patients with no calcium tend to have a low risk for significant coronary artery disease.

ECG leads are used to gate the scan to the patient's heartbeat; the scan takes approximately twenty seconds during which the patient holds their breath. The arterial calcifications are analyzed generating a coronary artery calcium "score" and quantifying a patient's risk for future myocardial infarction.

Screening for coronary arterial calcification is most appropriate for those with risk factors such as family history of heart disease, elevated cholesterol, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and a history of smoking.