Review of CT angiography of aorta.

The most common imaging modality used for diagnosis of aortic disease is CT, followed by transesophageal echocardiography, MRI, and aortography. If multiple imaging is performed, the initial imaging technique most frequently employed is computerized tomography. During the past decade, computed tomographic angiography (CTA) has become a standard non-invasive imaging modality for the depiction of vascular anatomy and pathology. The quality and speed of CTA examinations have increased dramatically as CT technology has evolved from-channel spiral CT systems to multichannel (4-, 8-, 10- and 16-slice) spiral CT system. The quality and speed of CTA is superior to other imaging modalities, and it is also cheaper and less invasive. CTA of the aorta has proven to be superior in diagnostic accuracy to conventional arteriography in several applications.