Influence of irregular heart rhythm on radiation exposure, image quality and diagnostic impact of cardiac computed tomography angiography in 4,339 patients. Data from the German Cardiac Computed Tomography Registry

A significant number of patients scheduled for coronary CTA have irregular heart rhythm in a real-world clinical setting. In such patients, heart rate during coronary CTA is higher, possibly resulting in (i) higher radiation and contrast agent exposure and (ii) more frequent coronary CTA examinations with at least one non-diagnostic coronary artery segment. However, this does not seem to lead to increased downstream stress testing or subsequent invasive procedures.