Associate Professor Rebecca Kozor is a consultant cardiologist and clinician researcher at Royal North Shore Hospital Sydney and the University of Sydney, with specialist expertise in cardiac imaging, including cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), cardiac CT, and echocardiography.
Her research is focusing on reducing unnecessary invasive coronary angiograms with cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.
Chest pain is the most common presentation to adult emergency departments. Many patients undergo unnecessary invasive coronary angiograms to distinguish the serious (heart attack) from other serious or non-serious causes. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) offers untapped potential in this setting in Australia.
CMR is used across the globe to diagnose and risk stratify patients with chest pain. Despite the international evidence, CMR is poorly utilised in Australia due to a lack of evidence specific to the Australian health system and no Medicare reimbursement.
This research aims to relieve the growing burden of hospital admissions and cardiac investigations related to chest pain, especially invasive coronary angiograms, by delivering strong evidence of the diagnostic use and cost effectiveness of cardiac MRI in a healthcare setting.