Combination of myocardial perfusion imaging and coronary artery calcium scanning: potential synergies for improving risk assessment in subjects with suspected coronary artery disease

Abstract

For many years, the mainstay of noninvasive evaluation of patients suspected of ischemic cardiovascular disease (CVD) centered on the use of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). In recent years, the advent of newer modalities such as coronary artery calcium (CAC) scanning, coronary CT angiography, and MRI have broadened the means of assessing cardiac patients for this purpose. Moreover, the advent of these newer modalities has created potential synergies whereby combinations of tests may be clinically useful. In this review, we assess the potential synergies between MPI, whether assessed by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography (PET), and CAC scanning. Whereas MPI has long been used for diagnostic assessment and for risk stratification purposes, the emerging uses of CAC scanning now appear multifold: screening for CVD, triaging patients for diagnostic stress testing, improving risk stratification in patients following stress testing, and enhancing the direct management of patients' CVD risk following CAC scanning. Recent work suggests that CAC scanning may be emerging as the initial test of choice for most asymptomatic patients. The advent of hybrid SPECT-CT and PET-CT scanners may signify an important new opportunity for the combined use of these modalities in the higher-risk asymptomatic patient population.