Dr. Peter Fail, an interventional cardiologist with Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) in Houma, served as a member of the expert faculty for the second annual CT Angiography for the Cardiologist course held April 6 – 8 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This international conference was attended by more than 900 physicians and is the largest conference in the world to focus on computed tomography angiography (CTA).

The three-day event provided comprehensive training for cardiologists at all levels of expertise in the use of CTA and discussed what the technology currently accomplishes and what it is expected to accomplish in the future.

Coronary CTA is a type of computed tomography that focuses imaging on the heart, its vessel walls and surrounding structures. It is a less-invasive alternative that is sometimes used instead of traditional testing that requires the insertion of a catheter and the injection of contrast dye into the body.

CTA can detect the early onset of heart disease, evaluate heart wall motion and heart function, measure the widths of arteries and detect and measure blockage inside those arteries. It can also be effectively used in the detection of blockages in the peripheral arteries (limbs).

“CT angiography has become a valuable tool in the practice of cardiovascular and peripheral vascular medicine,” notes Dr. Fail. “I am proud to have once again taken part in this prestigious conference that spreads the word about CTA, an important and constantly developing technology.”  

Dr. Fail moderated sessions that evaluated the use of coronary CT in multiple scenarios, spoke about overcoming the difficulties in obtaining good CT images when a rapid heart rate is involved, and led a small group session concerning challenging peripheral cases.

The program was conducted in collaboration with The Wisconsin Heart Hospital, The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, The Society of Nuclear Medicine and the Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin Chapters of the American College of Cardiology.

 Dr. Fail is the CT Medical Director and Director of Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories and Interventional Research for Cardiovascular Institute of the South in Houma. CIS was the first physician group in Louisiana to offer the 64-slice CT, technology that is sophisticated enough to capture images of the moving heart.

For more information about Cardiovascular Institute of the South, log on to www.cardio.com or call 1-800-425-2565.