Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease using Myocardial Perfusion SPECT in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: Analysis of Risk Factors

Seo, Ji Hyoung; Kang, Seong Min; Bae, Jin Ho; Jeong, Shin Young; Lee, Sang Woo; Yoo, Jeong Soo; Ahn, Byeong Cheol; Lee, Jaetae

Abstract

PURPOSE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a critical disease with higher rates of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to myocardial ischemia and infarction. There is growing interest in how to determine high-risk patients who are candidates for screening testing. This study was performed to evaluate the incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in diabetic patients detected by Tc-99m MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) and to assess risk factors of CAD and cardiac hard events.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
203 diabetic patients (64 male, mean age 64.1+/-9.0 years) who underwent MPS were included between Jan 2000 and July 2004. Cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) were considered as hard events, and coronary angioplasty and bypass surgery >60 days after testing were considered as soft events. The mean follow-up period was 36+/-18 months. Patients underwent exercise (n=6) or adenosine stress (n=197) myocardial perfusion SPECT.
RESULTS
Perfusion defects on MPS were detected in 28.6% (58/203) of the patients. There was no cardiac death but 11 hard events were observed. The annual cardiac hard event rate was 1.1%. In univariate analysis of clinical factors, typical anginal pain, peripheral vascular disease, peripheral polyneuropathy, and resting ECG abnormality were significantly associated with the ocurrence of hard events. Anginal pain, peripheral vascular disease, and resting ECG abnormality remained independent predictors of nonfatal MIs with multivariate analysis. Abnormal SPECT results were significantly associated with high prevalence of hard events but not independent predictors on uni- and multivariate analyses.
CONCLUSION
Patients who were male, had longer diabetes duration (especially over 20 years), peripheral vascular disease, peripheral polyneuropathy, or resting ECG abnormality had higher incidence of CAD. Among clinical factors in diabetic patients, typical angina, peripheral vascular disease, peripheral polyneuropathy, and resting ECG abnormality were strong predictors of hard events.