CT Coronary Angiography

Non-invasive 64-line CT visualisation of the coronary arteries to detect narrowing and atherosclerosis without catheter insertion. RZM's cardiovascular team uses the Siemens AS64 for high-resolution coronary imaging. Excludes or confirms significant coronary artery disease in a single outpatient appointment.

CT coronary angiography (CCTA) at RZM München provides a non-invasive alternative to diagnostic cardiac catheterisation for the assessment of coronary artery disease. The examination uses the Siemens Somatom Definition AS64 — a 64-line multispiral scanner — to acquire contrast-enhanced images of the coronary arteries synchronised with the cardiac cycle via ECG gating. This eliminates cardiac motion artefact and produces sub-millimetre spatial resolution images of the coronary lumen and surrounding plaque. A contrast agent is administered intravenously at a precisely timed rate to opacify the coronary circulation during acquisition. The scan itself takes only seconds, though the total appointment including preparation, contrast administration, monitoring, and physician consultation is longer. When resting heart rate is elevated, medication to slow the heart may be administered before scanning to optimise image quality. Current kidney function and thyroid values are required before contrast is given. The cardiovascular imaging specialists at RZM — PD Dr. med. Daniel Theisen and PD Dr. med. Lucas Geyer — review the reconstructed coronary images and grade each major vessel segment for the degree and character of stenosis. Non-calcified plaques, which carry particular risk of rupture, are characterised separately from calcified lesions. The report provides a structured per-segment assessment that the referring cardiologist or internist uses to guide further management: medical optimisation, functional testing, or invasive catheterisation where appropriate. CCTA is recommended by European Society of Cardiology guidelines as a first-line investigation for stable chest pain with low-to-intermediate pre-test probability for coronary artery disease. A normal CCTA result reliably excludes obstructive disease and has a very high negative predictive value — avoiding the need for invasive catheterisation in most patients. CCTA can be combined with coronary calcium scoring in a single session for a comprehensive coronary risk evaluation. No physician referral is required for self-pay patients; advance booking via the private consultation line (+49 89 896 000 33) is recommended.