title: The higher likelihood of developing cardiomegaly during follow-up in patients with syndrome X and abnormal thallium-201 myocardial perfusion SPECT.
abstract: 'Syndrome X' describes patients with exertional chest pain and a normal coronary arteriogram. In some patients, acute myocardial ischemia can be demonstrated by regional myocardial perfusion defects on thallium-201 exercise test. However, some patients with typical angina have normal perfusion on thallium-201 heart scintigraphy. It is not clear whether there are different prognoses for patients with normal and abnormal thallium studies. In this study, the clinical features, long term follow-up and clinical results of syndrome X patients with normal and abnormal thallium studies were evaluated to determine the differences between these two groups. Fifty-nine patients (52 males, seven females, mean age 62+/-6 years) with syndrome X were enrolled and divided into two groups on the basis of results of thallium-201 heart scintigraphy. Group I was comprised of 22 patients with normal thallium-201 perfusion scan and group II was comprised of 37 patients with abnormal thallium-201 heart scan. All subjects received coronary arteriography, exercise test, thallium-201 myocardial SPECT, ejection fraction of left ventricle, echocardiography, blood analysis and long term follow-up with questionnaire for 10 years. Lower maximal rate-pressure product and higher angina scores were found in group II. More patients developed cardiomegaly (nine of 33 patients) in group II than in group I (one of 21 patients). Both groups, however, were at low risk for cardiac events (cardiac death or myocardial infarction).
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, China Medical College Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D017566:Microvascular Angina / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010477:Perfusion; D011379:Prognosis; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes