Noninvasive prediction of coronary artery disease progression by comparison of serial exercise electrocardiography and dipyridamole stress echocardiography.
BACKGROUND
The possibility of noninvasive prediction of angiographically assessed coronary artery disease (CAD) progression by comparison of serial studies of exercise electrocardiography (EET) and dipyridamole stress echocardiography (DET) is not known.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the relative value of EET and DET in predicting angiographically assessed progression of CAD.


METHODS
From the Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Pisa Italy stress echo data bank (1983-1998), we selected 46 patients with two repeated EET, DET and coronary angiography (CA) in two different hospital admissions (46+/-30 months). A priori, angiographic progressors were defined as any stenosis progression to occlusion and/or any stenosis >30% with >20% stenosis progression measured by visual and quantitative CA. EET progressors were defined as a previous negative test becoming positive or as a positive test with decrease in ischemic threshold response in the second test. DET progressors were defined as previous negative test becoming positive or as a positive test with a more severe ischemic response in the second test.


RESULTS
Angiographic progressors were 31/46 patients (67%) and angiographic nonprogressors were 15/46 (33%). When angiography was taken as the gold standard, there were no differences in sensitivity for EET and DET (87 vs. 87%). Specificity was significantly higher for DET (93 vs. 40% p =< 0.001). By kappa statistics DET had a good concordance (kappa = 0.768) and EET a poor concordance (kappa = 0.299) with angiographic progression.


CONCLUSIONS
DET is more accurate than EET at predicting angiographically assessed CAD progression.
Rodriguez
Olaf
O
Instituto Mexicano de Seguridad Social, Mexico City, Mexico.
Picano
Eugenio
E
Fedele
Silvio
S
Morelos
Martha
M
Marzilli
Mario
M
D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D025401:Echocardiography, Stress; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity