NEW YORK, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the American Heart Association, nearly 80 million U.S. adults suffer from some sort of cardiovascular disease -- and it is estimated heart disease kills one American every 36 seconds. Experts say a new CT scanner -- one many are calling revolutionary -- could change the way doctors detect and treat this deadly disease. (See video at: http://media.medialink.com/WebNR.aspx?story=32952) The Siemens Somatom Definition is the world's first dual-source CT scanner. That means it uses 2 X-ray sources at the same time, while allowing doctors to scan every beating heart quickly -- using less radiation than ever before. Combined with the highly-defined images created by the system, doctors say the Definition helps them to exclude or confirm the presence of heart disease with more confidence than that of earlier CT scanners. The new system helps them to detect heart disease earlier, when treatment is often more effective. It's expected the Definition could have its biggest impact in the emergency room when a patient arrives with chest pains. Doctors would be able to rule out if a patient is undergoing a pulmonary embolism, a cardiac coronary event, or an aortic dissection in 20 seconds -- ultimately improving patient care. Registered journalists can access video, audio, text, graphics and photos for free and unrestricted use at http://media.medialink.com/. DATASOURCE: Medialink and Siemens CONTACT: Medialink New York, +1-888-560-5578 or Web site: http://media.medialink.com/ http://media.medialink.com/WebNR.aspx?story=32952

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