Clinical Application of Myocardial Perfusion SPECT in Patients with Suspected or Known Coronary Artery Disease. What Role in the Multimodality Imaging Era?

Rev Cardiovasc Med

Cardiovascular and Imaging Departments, CNR Research Area, Fondazione CNR/Regione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, 56124 Pisa, Italy.

Published: February 2023

AI Article Synopsis

  • Myocardial perfusion SPECT is a key tool in diagnosing and managing coronary artery disease (CAD), providing insights into heart function and ischemia, among other conditions.
  • It helps assess the severity of CAD by combining functional imaging with anatomical tests, particularly for patients with intermediate risk profiles.
  • The review discusses modern practices integrating SPECT imaging with other techniques to enhance diagnostic accuracy and improve patient outcomes in CAD management.

Article Abstract

Myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is widely used in assessing coronary artery disease (CAD) owing to its proven efficacy in extensive clinical experience. Like other functional tests, myocardial SPECT is recommended for the diagnosis of obstructive CAD, risk stratification assessment, and treatment decision making. Besides quantifying left ventricular volume, global and regional function by electrocardiography (ECG)-gated acquisition, myocardial SPECT can identify myocardial ischemia, scars, stunning, and viable hibernating myocardium. It provides comprehensive functional data across the spectrum of CAD and a cost-effective strategy in patients with intermediate pre-test probability of CAD or with a history of ischemic cardiomyopathy. With ongoing advances in cardiovascular prevention and risk factor management many patients referred for testing now have a low-to-intermediate probability of CAD. Besides, CAD has become a chronic condition resulting from novel therapeutic strategies. Against this background, approaches combining anatomical and functional tests in sequence or simultaneously include coronary artery calcium score integrated with perfusion imaging or fusion SPECT/coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). In this review we summarize current indications for myocardial perfusion SPECT and integration of SPECT with other imaging techniques to improve diagnostic performance, patient management, and outcome prediction in CAD.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11273120PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2402048DOI Listing

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