WCM-Q Grand Rounds discusses medical evaluation of chest pain – The Peninsula

WCM-Q Grand Rounds discusses medical evaluation of chest pain – The Peninsula

Dr. Subhi J. Al’Aref

Doha: A US-based interventional cardiology expert explained the main methodologies for conducting evaluations of patients experiencing chest pain in a presentation at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s (WCM-Q) Grand Rounds.

Dr. Subhi J. Al’Aref, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology and director of Cardiac CT at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, gave a live webinar in which he reviewed the existing paradigm for chest pain evaluation.

He then described the technique of non-invasive anatomic evaluation for patients presenting with chest pain, particularly in cases of suspected coronary artery disease. Dr. Al’Aref is an alumnus of WCM-Q, having graduated from the college in 2008.

Using real-life examples, Dr. Al’Aref explained the major differences between anatomical and functional testing for chest pain. Anatomical testing generally involves a computed tomography (CT) scan, which utilizes rotating X-ray machines and computers to create cross-sectional images of the internal structures of the body – in this case, the heart and blood vessels. Functional testing utilizes a number of other modalities, such as an exercise electrocardiogram (ECG) to assess the heart’s response to exercise; nuclear stress testing, which uses a small amount of radioactive tracer material inserted intravenously and an imaging machine to assess