Reclassification of cardiovascular risk by myocardial perfusion imaging in diabetic patients with abnormal resting electrocardiogram

Background and aimsDespite an extensive use of stress myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (MPS), no study addressed the role of perfusion imaging in diabetic patients with abnormal resting electrocardiogram (ECG). We compared analytical approaches to assess the added value of stress MPS variables in estimating coronary heart disease outcomes in diabetic patients with abnormal resting ECG.Methods and resultsA total of 416 patients with diabetes and abnormal resting ECG who underwent stress MPS were prospectively followed up after the index study. The end point was the occurrence of a major cardiac event, including cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction. At the end of follow-up (median 58 months), 42 patients experienced events. MPS data increased the predictive value of a model including traditional cardiovascular risk factors and left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (likelihood ratio χ2 from 17.54 to 24.15, p < 0.05, with a C statistic of 0.72, 95% confidence interval: 0.65–0.79). The addition of MPS data resulted in reclassification of 25% of the sample with a net reclassification improvement of 0.20 (95% confidence interval: 0.05–0.36). Overall, 63 patients were reclassified to a lower risk category, with a 5-year event rate of 3.5%, and 40 patients were reclassified to a higher risk category, with a 5-year event rate of 20%.ConclusionThe addition of MPS findings to a model based on traditional cardiovascular risk factors and LV ejection fraction improves risk classification for incident cardiac events in diabetic patients with abnormal resting ECG.