Role of Dual-Acquisition Noninvasive Cardiac CT Imaging for the Detection of Vasospastic Angina

Background: Vasospastic angina (VSA) is characterized by chest pain at rest with transient ischemic electrocardiographic changes in the ST segment, and a prompt response to nitrates. Vasospastic angina is among the most frequent of the coronary artery diseases in Asia, and coronary computed tomograp...

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Main Authors: Xuan Jin, Eun-Ju Kang, Cai-De Jin, Kwang-Min Lee, Kyung-Hee Lim, Seung-Woon Rha, Cheol-Ung Choi, Hwan-Seok Yong, Sung-Cheol Yun, Matthew J. Budoff, Long-Hao Yu, Moo-Hyun Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-05-01
Series:Journal of Clinical Medicine
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/11/3753
Description
Summary:Background: Vasospastic angina (VSA) is characterized by chest pain at rest with transient ischemic electrocardiographic changes in the ST segment, and a prompt response to nitrates. Vasospastic angina is among the most frequent of the coronary artery diseases in Asia, and coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) may become available as a non-invasive diagnosis method. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 100 patients with suspected vasospastic angina at two centers from 2018 to 2020. All patients underwent baseline CCTA without a vasodilator in the early morning followed by catheterized coronary angiography and spasm testing. CCTA with intravenous infusion of nitrate (IV) was repeated within 2 weeks of baseline CCTA. Vasospastic angina as detected by CCTA was defined as significant stenosis (≥50%) with negative remodeling without definite plaques or diffuse small diameter (<2 mm) of a major coronary artery with a beaded appearance on baseline CT that completely dilated on IV nitrate CT. We analyzed diagnostic performance of dual-acquisition CCTA for the detection of vasospastic angina. Results: The patients were categorized into three groups according to their provocation test result (negative, <i>n</i> = 36; probable positive, <i>n</i> = 18; positive, <i>n</i> = 31). The diagnostic accuracy in terms of CCTA per patient had a sensitivity of 55% (95% CI, 40–69), specificity of 89% (95% CI, 74–97), positive predictive value (PPV) of 87% (95% CI, 72–95), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 59% (95% CI, 51–67). Conclusions: Dual-acquisition CCTA can support the non-invasive detection of vasospastic angina with relatively good specificity and PPV. CCTA was helpful for non-invasive screening of variant angina.
ISSN:2077-0383