Different Reconstruction Intervals for Exclusion of Coronary Artery Calcifications by Retrospectively Gated MDCT

OBJECTIVE. Exclusion of coronary artery calcifications has a high negative predictive value for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. However, it is known that significant differences in calcium scoring can occur because of the ECG trigger interval. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of different reconstruction intervals on detection of any coronary calcium by using MDCT and retrospective cardiac gating.CONCLUSION. For a true exclusion of coronary artery calcifications, different reconstruction intervals have to be evaluated.