Normal and Near Normal Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Data Analysis: Two-Year Major Adverse Cardiac Event

Abstract

Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is the method most commonly used to assess patients with suspected coronary artery disease for the presence of myocardial ischemia and risk of subsequent adverse cardiac events. Studies are limited on the incidence of major adverse cardiac event (MACE) in patients with normal MPI results. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors of MACE in patients with normal or near-normal MPI results. In this single-center retrospective chart review study, patients who had received MPI tests at a nuclear medicine department of a medical center in 2017 were consecutively enrolled. All of the participants in this study were patients with normal or near-normal MPI results, and were followed for two years to assess the incidence of MACE (death, hospitalized for percutaneous coronary intervention; CABG, heart failure and stroke). Participants with or without MACE were compared to determine whether demographic, comorbidity, and MPI data were significant risk factors. Of the 1,629 participants (age = 70.4 ± 11.3 years, 49.4% male) enrolled, 387 (23.8%) were classified into the normal MPI group and 1,242 (76.2%) were classified into the near-normal MPI group. Notably, 61 participants (15.8%) in the normal MPI group and 206 (16.6%) in the near-normal MPI group experienced MACE events during the two-year follow-up. The risk factors of MACE identified in this study included being older in age, being male, and having poor myocardial perfusion parameters (i.e., ejection fraction) during MPI. Over the two-year study period, 15.8% of the participants with normal MPI results and 16.6% of those with near-normal MPI results experienced major adverse cardiac events. Thus, it is critical to inform patients regarding the potential risk of MACE risk and to educate them on how to mitigate this risk by actively managing their hyperlipidemia level and left ventricular ejection fraction.