VALIDITY OF MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION IMAGING FOR THE DETECTION OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD).METHODOLOGY: This hospital based observational study was conducted in department of Cardiology, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, from May 2008 to Jun 2009. MPI was performed for all patients and invasive coronary angiography was used as gold standard for the detection of CAD.RESULTS: A total of 50 patients were included in the study; their mean age was 53.8±9.7 years. Men were 35 (70%) and women were 15(30%). Myocardial perfusion imaging was reported as normal in 5(10%)patients while 45 (90%) had evidence of CAD. Coronary angiography showed 44 patients (88%) had 50% stenosis in at least one coronary artery. Compared with coronary angiography, the sensitivity, specificity,positive predictive value and negative predictive values of myocardial perfusion imaging for detection of CAD were 98%, 67%, 95%, and 80%respectively. The sensitivity for the detection of ischemia in left anterior descending artery (LAD), right coronary artery (RCA) and left circumflex artery (CIRC) territories were 89.7%, 94.7% and 72.2% respectively.CONCLUSION: Myocardial perfusion imaging has a high sensitivity but low specificity for identifying patients with coronary artery disease.