Cardiac hybrid imaging can help specialists predict heart attacks
Cardiac hybrid imaging with single photon emission tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is an effective predictor of adverse cardiac events, according to a new study published in Radiology.
The authors explained that invasive coronary angiography (ICA) is viewed as “the gold standard” for determining the percent of stenosis in a coronary artery. However, because that percentage doesn’t provide information on perfusion, ICA is not effective at predicting a patient’s risk of heart attack.
Cardiac hybrid imaging, however, provides information on stenosis and perfusion. The authors examined data from more than 400 patients who underwent cardiac hybrid imaging. A total of 160 major adverse cardiac events and 45 deaths were observed in those patients.
Overall, patients with stenosis of 50 percent or more and evidence of ischemia in the area of the heart where the blocked vessel supplied blood were found to be at five times the risk of adverse events than patients with normal findings. Patients with evidence of ischemia “but not in the area of the heart being fed by the stenotic artery” had three times the risk of an adverse event.
This, the authors noted, means that using cardiac hybrid imaging is an effective way for specialists to predict adverse cardiac events in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.
“In patients with multiple lesions or complex coronary anatomy, it is, in many cases, very difficult to correctly identify the culprit lesion,” study co-author Philipp A. Kaufmann, MD, professor and chair of nuclear medicine, and director of cardiac imaging at University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland, said in a press release. “In a previous multicenter trial, with hybrid imaging we were able to see that about one in five patients should be revascularized in another coronary artery than originally planned. The present study now documents the prognostic importance of the comprehensive assessment provided by hybrid imaging.”
The researchers are already planning their next steps, according to the press release, and hope to run a clinical trial to further investigate these findings.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.