Memorial Health System Adopts HeartFlow Analysis, a New Diagnostic Tool for Heart Disease
Incorporating a HeartFlow FFRCT analysis can help more accurately determine if a person with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) should be treated for heart disease.
Gulfport, Mississippi — August 28, 2023 — Memorial Health System now offers a proven, non-invasive diagnostic option for people with suspected heart disease living in Coastal Mississippi. Using CT images combined with CT-derived fractional flow reserve (FFRCT) is a noninvasive clinical pathway that helps diagnose CAD. Trained analysts and AI algorithms create an anatomical model of a person’s heart that helps physicians visualize the blood flow and detect stenosis, or plaque that obstructs the blood flow.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults in the United States, and CAD is the most common type of heart disease, affecting nearly half the adult population. CAD develops when the arteries leading to the heart narrow or become blocked, which may lead to a reduction in blood flow to the heart. This can cause chest pain, heart attacks and death. Identifying exactly where and how an artery is blocked or clogged can help improve a person’s treatment plan — including whether or not an intervention is needed.
Despite CAD being the most common form of heart disease, studies have shown there is a need to improve how and when CAD is evaluated and diagnosed. Many of the non-invasive tests available today offer a low accuracy rate in detecting CAD. About 4 million diagnostic tests are conducted on patients with chest pain suspected of having CAD each year in the U.S. – many of which are unnecessary.2
“Historically, we have been faced with either using tests that were frequently inaccurate or putting a patient through an invasive procedure just to determine whether they would need another invasive procedure to restore blood flow,” said Dr. Paul Mullen, Interventional Cardiologist at Memorial Physician Clinics Coast Cardiovascular Associates. “The HeartFlow FFRCT Analysis completely changes this paradigm, providing essential information that can help us determine the right approach for a patient through a convenient, non-invasive platform.”
The HeartFlow FFRCT Analysis offers the highest diagnostic accuracy available from a noninvasive test.3 Additionally, in clinical trials, using the HeartFlow FFRCT Analysis helped identify which patients do and do not need invasive treatment.4 The use of the HeartFlow FFRCT Analysis also reduced the cost of care by 26% compared to usual care.5
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ABOUT MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM
Memorial Health System has been serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 1946. Located in Gulfport, Mississippi, Memorial is a not-for-profit medical complex jointly owned by the City of Gulfport and Harrison County. The Memorial footprint includes multiple hospitals licensed for 328 beds, a state-designated Level II Trauma Center, two nursing centers, four outpatient surgery centers, satellite outpatient diagnostic and rehabilitation centers, and close to 100 Memorial Physician Clinics. Memorial offers several of the region’s most comprehensive clinical programs and medical specialties unique to the area, including a Level III Neonatal ICU and Mississippi’s first nationally certified Primary Stroke Center. Visit wearememorial.com to learn more.
1 https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
2 Gulati et al., Circ 2021.
3 Driessen, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2019.
4 Douglas, et al., Euro Heart J 2015.
5 Douglas, et al., J Am Coll Cardiol 2016.