Warning: Imaging Tests Can Damage Kidneys, Increase Stroke and Heart Attack Risk

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Warning: Imaging Tests Can Damage Kidneys, Increase Stroke and Heart Attack

RiskMonday, July 20, 2009 by: S. L. Baker, features writer

Key concepts: Health, Heart attack and Stroke   Email this article to a

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Sign the Health Revolution PetitionJoin the call for genuine health freedom in

America. End FDA tyranny and Big Pharma corruption. Watch the video and sign

the petition here.(NaturalNews) No matter what your health complaint is, if you

go see your doctor you might end up undergoing some kind of high tech imaging

procedure such as cardiac angiography, CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic

resonance imaging). According to a study published last fall in the

journal Health Affairs, medical imaging has soared over the last few years

across all types of these tests, doubling the annual medical cost per patient.

In fact, the study confirmed previous reports that patients are far-too-often

being subjected to unnecessary imaging. 

 

At least, most of these tests are minimally invasive and thoroughly studied to

make sure they carry few risks so they are safe, right? Unfortunately, the

answer is no. New reports of lasting, health-harming effects from some imaging

tests are accumulating. A case in point: a new study just published in

the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN) warns that

seemingly minor and reversible kidney damage injury which can arise after

undergoing certain common medical imaging procedures is a

serious health threat. The reason? It is linked to a greatly increased risk of

stroke, heart attack and death.

 

University of Vermont physician Richard Solomon,MD, and his colleagues

investigated 294 patients with kidney disease who were exposed to contrast

agents during cardiac angiography. Patients in this study, dubbed the CARE

(Cardiac Angiography in REnally Impaired Patients) trial, were randomly divided

with half receiving the contrast agent iopamidol and the other receiving the

contrast agent iodixanol. 

 

Many medical imaging techniques, including cardiac angiography and CT scans,

often involve the use of contrast agents, substances that contain iodine (like

iopamidol and iodixanol) and barium, because they enhance the contrast between

body structures or fluids within the body. This allows blood vessels and changes

in tissues to be more clearly visualized. 

 

When Dr. Solomon and his colleagues followed the CARE patients for one year or

longer, they found that 92 (31 percent) of the research subjects experienced

negative health effects after their imaging test. Their risk of having

a stroke or heart attack over the next year or two after the test was

elevated. Overall, 38 (13 percent) of the patients experienced a major event,

such as death, stroke, heart attack, or end-stage renal disease. Those who

developed contrast-induced kidney injuries had twice as many long-term negative

health effects compared with patients who didn't suffer kidney damage. 

 

It isn't only people who already have problems with their kidneys who can be at

risk from the imaging testing, either. Doctors have long known exposure to

contrast agents can cause damage in seemingly healthy kidneys, but patients are

usually assured this is just a temporary side effect that will resolve on its

own. However, recent studies have suggested that contrast-induced kidney damage

might actually be lasting and serious. In a statement to the media, the

University of Vermont researchers said  " the CARE trial findings should prompt

investigators to design additional studies on the long-term negative health

effects of contrast-induced kidney damage " .

 

In addition to kidney damage, the contrast agent iopamidol has also been known

to sometimes causeseizures in people with a history of epilepsy. In rare case

reports, including one published earlier this year in the Internet Journal of

Neurology, iopamidol has been found to cause severe seizures and respiratory

arrest in non-epileptic patients undergoing imaging tests.

 

As reported in Natural News last April

(http://www.naturalnews.com/026001.html), the use of contrast agents isn't the

only potentially dangerous downside to some common imaging procedures. A study

in the medical journal Radiology found that people who had numerous CT scans

over their lifetime had a significantly increased risk of cancer. In fact, CT

scans increased the risk of cancer by 2.7 to 12 percent.

 

For more information:

http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/

http://www.ispub.com/journal/the_in...

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dr...

Muhammad Ahmad Al-Masry

 

64, Muhammad Korayem Street,

 

Gomrok, Alexandria, Egypt

 

Tel: 0020-03-4800555

 

Fax: 0020-03-3082667

 

Web: massrii

 

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