A Stony Brook University Hospital cardiologist is urging emergency rooms across the country to adopt the use of Cardiac CT scans as standard protocol for the evaluation of acute chest pain when treating female patients – many of whom may suffer from atypical symptoms beyond chest pain that do not seem to be indicative of heart attacks or blocked coronaries.

Dr. Michael Poon is a nationally-known pioneer in non-invasive cardiac imaging and is responsible for transforming Stony Brook’s emergency room to use cardiac CT scans as opposed to traditional, time-consuming, and less-reliable evaluations like stress tests and serial blood tests and electrocardiograms.

Dr. Poon is available throughout the month of February for National Heart Month. Here is some information on the cardiac CT:

• It uses the lowest possible dose of radiation to get the most accurate diagnosis of the cause of chest pain• It quickly gives a detailed image of the heart and all of its surrounding vessels• It is known to be the most cost-efficient way to rule out acute coronary syndrome such as heart attack.• It dramatically cuts down the length of an emergency room stay, unnecessary hospital admissions and invasive procedures, and ultimately saves lives, money, and time. Though the efforts of Dr. Poon and his colleagues, Stony Brook University Hospital is leading the charge in changing the conventional way in which women are treated for heart-related issues. We can offer several of his patients with remarkable stories who can all attest to the benefits and effectiveness of this evaluation.