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Member Research & Reports

Member Research & Reports

SUNY Albany Finds One-Quarter of Diagnostic Catheterizations for Suspected Coronary Artery Disease are Unnecessary

Dr. Edward L. Hannan, distinguished professor and associate dean for Research Emeritus at the University at Albany School of Public Health and a New York State Department of Health researcher, examined New York’s Cardiac Diagnostic Catheterization Database to identify patients undergoing diagnostic catheterizations (DC) for coronary artery disease between 2010 and 2011. The study, published in January's Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, found one-quarter of patients undergoing DC for suspected coronary artery disease in New York were rated as inappropriate for the procedure primarily because they were relatively healthy.