Contrast agents imaging and Kidney disease

According to a recent Life Extension update  (22Feb,2008) the risk of experiencing contrast induced nephropathy (kidney damage) following CT scans and/or angiograms can be as high as 1 in 10, increasing to 1 in 4  in those patients with diabetes and/or heart failure. The authors recommend especially for the latter group of patients that they discuss this risk  with their doctor and decide whether  they should take a  N-Acetylcysteine tablet before the Xray procedure.