[1] CTA can be used to examine blood vessels in many key areas of the body including the brain, kidneys, pelvis, and the lungs.

The patient receives an intravenous injection of contrast and then the heart is scanned using a high speed CT scanner.

CTA is used to assess heart or vessel irregularities, location of stents and whether they are still open, and occasionally to check for atherosclerotic disease.

[2] This method displays the anatomical detail of blood vessels more precisely than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound.

CCTA is a useful way of screening for arterial disease because it is safer, much less time-consuming than catheter angiography, and is also a cost-effective procedure.

CTA is the test of choice when assessing aneurysm before and after endovascular stenting due to the ability to detect calcium within the wall.

[3][4] In this test, a PE will appear as a dark spot inside the blood vessel or a sudden stop of the bright contrast material.

Stenosis (narrowing) of a renal artery is a cause of hypertension (high blood pressure) in some patients and can be corrected.

A special computerized method of viewing the images makes renal CT angiography a very accurate examination.

While CTA can produce high quality images of the carotid arteries for grading the level of stenosis (narrowing of the vessel), calcium deposits (calcified plaques) in the area where the vessels split can lead to interference with accurate stenosis grading.

[8] Harms of overuse of CT angiography include radiation exposure and the possibility of finding then seeking treatment for a clinically insignificant pulmonary embolism which ought not be treated.

[9] Contrary to popular belief there is no correlation between seafood allergies and reactions to iodine contrast, as shown by many recent studies.