Cardiovascular Ageing and Longevity Programme (CRANE)<\/a> for patients whose conditions cannot be fully explained by standard tests.<\/p>\nThe other new approach assesses the heart and muscles simultaneously, providing early insights on heart muscle health.<\/p>\n
These approaches aim to tackle what the centre describes as a \u201clong-standing blind spot\u201d \u2013 heart diseases that do not show up during routine examinations but progressively erode the quality of life.<\/p>\n
In a media statement, NHCS noted that data from the Singapore Cardiac Data Bank showed 22 per cent of patients with chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart, or angina, did not have major blockage in their heart arteries in standard angiograms, which use X-rays to look for blockages.<\/p>\n
The condition, known as angina with non-obstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA), is more common among older adults, women and people with diabetes.<\/p>\n
Angina affects some 112 million people worldwide, according to the World Heart Federation.<\/p>\n
NHCS said that while a standard coronary angiography \u2013 which detects narrowing in the major heart arteries \u2013 is effective for most patients, the procedure is unable to detect problems in smaller blood vessels or sudden arterial spasms that cause symptoms in some patients.<\/p>\n
In contrast, a functional coronary angiography, using specialised pressure wires and medications, can measure blood flow and pressure within the coronary arteries, including microscopic ones invisible in standard imaging.<\/p>\n
Clinical guidelines published by the European Society of Cardiology in 2024 recommend the procedure for patients with unexplained chest pain, with numerous studies finding that it can lead to more tailored treatments that improve quality of life for patients.<\/p>\n
The functional coronary angiography is offered to patients who \u2013 after specialist assessment \u2013 have unexplained angina symptoms despite normal results in standard scans, or whose symptoms persist despite treatment.<\/p>\n
While parts of the procedure have been available separately in Singapore, NHCS is now rolling it out as a structured, routine service within its dedicated cardiovascular ageing programme.<\/p>\n
The centre has performed the procedure more than 100 times since CRANE was launched in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatients with ANOCA often spend years moving between clinics, undergoing repeated tests, and being told nothing is wrong,\u201d said NHCS cardiology department consultant Keh Yann Shan.<\/p>\n
\u201cFunctional coronary angiography allows us to give patients an actual diagnosis, and from there, a treatment that works,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The second new approach is the Multiparametric Heart-Muscle Imaging (MOSAIC), which uses advanced echocardiography techniques that utilise ultrasound to assess the heart and muscular system, giving doctors early insights into heart muscle quality at the tissue level.<\/p>\n
Clinical assessment identifies suitable patients, such as those with risk factors for age-related heart muscle decline, which allows for earlier, more targeted intervention before significant muscle loss occurs \u2013 a key indicator of frailty in seniors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe (two) approaches are designed to complement, not replace, standard cardiac care. They give our specialists better tools for patients who need them most,\u201d said CRANE director Angela Koh.<\/p>\n
Such approaches are especially important as Singapore\u2019s population ages,<\/a> with older people more likely to have atypical symptoms or heart conditions that elude standard testing, said Koh, who is also a senior consultant at the NHCS cardiology department.<\/p>\nAfter undergoing the functional coronary angiography, Desker was placed on calcium channel blockers, which are drugs that lower blood pressure by preventing calcium from entering the cells of the heart and arteries.<\/p>\n
She said the treatment relieved the tightness in her chest, adding that her family is now at ease.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything were to happen to me, I would not be able to see my kids,\u201d said the mother of three.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SINGAPORE \u2013 After experiencing chest pains in 2022, Frieda Matilda Desker was found to have severely narrowed heart…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[163,521,85,46],"class_list":["post-474756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}