Österreichische Kardiologische Gesellschaft 

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Events/activities 2009-2010

• Session ASC 2010
• Interdisciplinary heart diagnostics 9/17-18/2010 in Klagenfurt (approx. 150 participants!)
• ongoing task force sessions jointly with ASR
• Publication Update Guidelines for Coronary CT (ASR/ASC)
• European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) Course 2010
• Management Board Annual Meeting EANM Vienna 2010
• Nucleus membership WG Nucl Cardiology EANM
• Invited CT lecture DG Cardiology Mannheim 2010

Events / advanced training 2008-2009

• Main assembly of the ASC 2008
• Interdisciplinary heart diagnostics October 11/12, 2008 in Innsbruck (200 participants!)
• ongoing task force sessions jointly with ASR (min. 2x / year)
• Interdisciplinary heart diagnostics October 9/10, 2009 in Graz (approx. 150 participants)

Scientific Highlights 2009-2010

The potential risks from exposure to ionizing radiation during cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) have led many to question the role of this technique. The Prospective Multicenter Study On Radiation Dose Estimates Of Cardiac CT Angiography In Daily Practice I (PROTECTION I) was an observational study of estimated radiation dose in 1965 patients undergoing CCTA over an 11 month period. The median dose-length product (DLP) of 1965 CCTA examinations performed at 50 study sites was 885mGy per cm, which corresponds to an estimated radiation dose of 12mSv. This equates to 1.2 times the dose of an abdominal CT study, or 600 chest X-rays. Moreover, a large variability in DLP was noted between study sites, with a range of 331-2146 mGy per cm. The authors conclude that the median radiation doses from CCTA differ significantly between individual centres and CT systems. The dose of radiation received can be difficult to estimate, and the study does not look at any links between the radiation dose received and cancer, but one important finding was that strategies known to reduce radiation dose were not implemented. Results from PROTECTION 2 and 3, due later this year, will determine whether image quality can be maintained with lower doses of radiation.