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The prognosis of a normal stress-only Tc-99m myocardial perfusion imaging study

  • Original Article
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Journal of Nuclear Cardiology Aims and scope

Abstract

Background

Stress-only imaging saves time and radiation exposure, but apprehension remains about the reliability, diagnostic, and prognostic accuracy of a normal stress-only study. The objective of this study was to determine the prognosis of stress-only SPECT MPI in routine clinical practice.

Methods

Patients at lower pre-test risk for CAD presenting for a Tc-99m SPECT MPI over a 2-year period underwent a stress-only protocol. If the stress images were normal (attenuation correction was routinely acquired on all patients), rest imaging was not done. Outcomes of the stress-only group were compared to a full rest-stress protocol cohort. Only patients with normal perfusion and left ventricular function, and no known CAD, were included. All-cause mortality was determined using the Social Security Death Index and specific causes of death were determined using the National Death Index. The difference in all-cause and cardiac mortality between groups in the presence of competing risks was assessed using log-normal survival models.

Results

Out of 10,609 patients studied during the time period, 1,673 had a normal stress-only study and 3,237 had a normal rest-stress study. At one year, there were 20 total and 3 cardiac deaths (1.2% and 0.2% mortality) in the stress-only group, and 40 total and 4 cardiac deaths (1.2% and 0.1% mortality) in the rest-stress cohort. At the end of follow-up (40 ± 9 months), there were 46 total and 7 cardiac deaths (2.7% and 0.4% mortality) in the stress-only group, and 119 total and 17 cardiac deaths (3.7% and 0.5% mortality) in the rest-stress cohort. No significant difference between the stress-only and rest-stress cohorts was found after controlling for confounding variables for both all-cause mortality (p = .94) and cardiac mortality (p = .82).

Conclusions

A normal stress-only MPI has an excellent short-term prognosis (both for all-cause and cardiac mortality) comparable to that of a normal rest-stress MPI study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mount Sinai Department of Cardiology (Mount Sinai Heart), Mount Sinai Medical Center, Box 1030, One Gustave L Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    W. Lane Duvall MD, Lori B. Croft MD & Milena J. Henzlova MD

  2. Mount Sinai Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Melanie N. Wijetunga MD, Thomas M. Klein MD & Louai Razzouk MD

  3. Mount Sinai Department of Community and Preventative Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Jim Godbold PhD

Authors
  1. W. Lane Duvall MD
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  2. Melanie N. Wijetunga MD
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  3. Thomas M. Klein MD
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  4. Louai Razzouk MD
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  5. Jim Godbold PhD
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  6. Lori B. Croft MD
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  7. Milena J. Henzlova MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Milena J. Henzlova MD.

Additional information

See related editorial on doi:10.1007/s12350-010-9233-3.

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Duvall, W.L., Wijetunga, M.N., Klein, T.M. et al. The prognosis of a normal stress-only Tc-99m myocardial perfusion imaging study. J. Nucl. Cardiol. 17, 370–377 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-010-9210-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-010-9210-x

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