https://doi.org/10.15344/2456-446X/2016/109
Abstract
Myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a useful imaging method for prediction of future cardiac events in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) because ischemic indices obtained from myocardial perfusion SPECT provides risk stratification of cardiac events. The cardiac event risk stratification is clinically important for the design of a therapeutic strategy in especially high risk patients with chronic kidney disease or diabetes mellitus as well as patients with CAD. In Japan, the value of myocardial perfusion SPECT for cardiac event risk stratification has also been widely recognized since the initiation of J-ACCESS (the multicenter trial Japanese assessment of cardiac events and survival study). To date, cardiac event risk stratification with myocardial perfusion SPECT has generally been based on conventional semi-quantitative analysis including visual segmental scoring, which requires expert interpretation. However introduction of automated quantification with a total perfusion deficit allows cardiac event risk stratification based on automated quantification without expert interpreters. In addition, recently some equations have been prepared to estimate a cardiac event risk with the scores of multiple predictors. Those equations enable us to predict the risk of cardiac events before treatment. Myocardial perfusion SPECT is a useful modality to stratify the risk of cardiac events and to improve a prognosis in patients with known or suspected CAD.