"There might always be the occasion where we've got a child not breathing or someone in cardiac arrest or an elderly patient with chest pain that needs that response, " Mr Brown added.

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Millions of heart patients have gotten cardiac stents placed in their arteries to stave off chest pain from angina and open dangerously-clogged arteries.

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The team studied 18 weight-related medical conditions, including cardiac disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, stroke and lower back pain.

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One study found that chest-pain patients who were treated aggressively -- with, say, angioplasty, cardiac bypass or sophisticated clot-busting drugs -- did better than those whose doctors took a "wait and see" approach.

CNN: Research closing in on heart disease

When cardiac CT angiography is being used appropriately -- meaning, for example, in people with chest pain suggesting blocked heart arteries, rather than as a screening test for people with no symptoms of heart disease -- the benefits far outweigh the risk of the radiation, according to Einstein and Hausleiter.

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