Impact of Hypertension on the Phase Analysis Parameters of Gated Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

Background: We sought to evaluate the association between hypertension (HTN) and left ventricular (LV) mechanical synchrony parameters derived via the phase analysis of gated single-photon emission computed tomography (GSPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Methods: Ninety-nine patients with no known coronary heart disease (CHD) who underwent GSPECT MPI and had normal resting and post-stress scan with a recent normal echocardiographic examination and a positive history of HTN were recruited. The gated images were analyzed by Cedar–Sinai’s quantitative GSPECT. The global and regional LV mechanical synchrony indices—including phase histogram bandwidth (PHB), phase standard deviation (PSD), and entropy—were derived and compared with the results of the control group, which had previously been defined with the same protocol for a group of 100 patients with a low likelihood for CHD. Results: Comparisons between the study and control groups revealed that neither global nor regional wall-based indices for PHB, PSD, and entropy were significantly different between the 2 groups (P> 0.05), whether or not HTN was accompanied by comorbid diabetes. Congruent with the control group, a significant difference was detected between the global LV phase parameters of the 2 genders (P<0.05). Conclusions: HTN does not intrinsically have a significant impact on the mechanical synchrony indices of GSPECT MPI.