Heart disease proves double-edged issue
Source: Agencies |
November 4, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A PERSON'S long-term risk of heart disease was better assessed by a pair of studies, as performing only one may miss a dangerous buildup of calcium in arteries, United States researchers said.
They said about half of all patients in a 10-year study who had normal results on a nuclear stress test known as SPECT were found to have significant buildup of calcium on the walls of arteries when they did a heart CT.
"Typically, when a patient presents with chest pain and the (SPECT) test result is normal, we tell them everything looks fine, but this may not be the case," Dr John Mahmarian of the Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center in Texas, who led the study, said in a statement released on Monday.
He said if a large amount of calcified plaque was found on artery walls - something that can't be seen in SPECT imaging - the patient had a high long-term risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
"Based on our findings, using both tests to define risk is better than either test alone," Mahmarian said.
Nuclear stress tests using single-photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT, examine blood flows to the heart. People with a normal result are generally thought to have less than a 1-percent chance of having a heart attack within a year.
Mahmarian's team followed 1,126 patients. They found people who were deemed low risk by the SPECTtest were three times more likelythan others to have a heart attackduring the study period if theyhad high calcium scores.
They said about half of all patients in a 10-year study who had normal results on a nuclear stress test known as SPECT were found to have significant buildup of calcium on the walls of arteries when they did a heart CT.
"Typically, when a patient presents with chest pain and the (SPECT) test result is normal, we tell them everything looks fine, but this may not be the case," Dr John Mahmarian of the Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center in Texas, who led the study, said in a statement released on Monday.
He said if a large amount of calcified plaque was found on artery walls - something that can't be seen in SPECT imaging - the patient had a high long-term risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
"Based on our findings, using both tests to define risk is better than either test alone," Mahmarian said.
Nuclear stress tests using single-photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT, examine blood flows to the heart. People with a normal result are generally thought to have less than a 1-percent chance of having a heart attack within a year.
Mahmarian's team followed 1,126 patients. They found people who were deemed low risk by the SPECTtest were three times more likelythan others to have a heart attackduring the study period if theyhad high calcium scores.
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