Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy for risk stratification of patients with coronary artery disease: the AMICO registry

AIMS: We assessed the prognostic value of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) with cadmium-zinc-telluride in addition to clinical and coronary anatomy analysis. METHODS AND RESULTS: We prospectively enrolled 1464 patients (26% females, 69.5 ± 10.4 years) referred for stress-rest MPS. All the patients underwent invasive coronary angiography (1171, 80%) or coronary computed tomography angiography (293, 20%). We defined a composite endpoint of cardiovascular death and non-fatal MI. After an 8-year follow-up, summed stress score (SSS) had the highest accuracy in predicting primary endpoint with a ROC-derived cut-off of SSS >8 (>10% myocardium). SSS >8 portended the lowest survival probability at Kaplan-Meier analysis (P < 0.0001 for the composite endpoint and individual components). The Cox-regression analysis indicated SSS as an independent predictor of the composite endpoint, along with fasting blood glucose and total cholesterol and contrary to coronary anatomy parameters. Patients with SSS >8 treated with optimal medical therapy (OMT) had the largest area of necrosis, the lower ischaemic burden, the most compromised LV systo-diastolic function and the highest LV mass, but received a less aggressive treatment in comparison to early revascularized patients. Survival analysis revealed patients with SSS ≤8 had the greater freedom from events, irrespective of the treatment strategy, while the group with SSS >8 and OMT had the worst outcome, followed by patients with SSS >8 and early revascularization (log-rank test: all P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: MPS-SSS constitutes a strong independent predictor of future adverse events after adjustment for multiple clinical parameters and coronary angiography. In particular, MPS could help risk stratification of patients who did not undergo early revascularization.