title: Screening for coronary artery disease in respiratory patients: comparison of single- and dual-source CT in patients with a heart rate above 70 bpm.
abstract: To evaluate the assessibility of coronary arteries in respiratory patients with high heart rates. This study was based on the comparative analysis of two paired populations of 54 patients with a heart rate >70 bpm evaluated with dual-source (group 1) and single-source (group 2) CT. The mean heart rate was 89.1 bpm in group 1 and 86.7 bpm in group 2 (P=0.26). The mean number of assessable segments per patient was significantly higher in group 1 compared to group 2 (P <or= 0.0001). The proportions of patients in whom proximal and mid-coronary segments were assessable (i.e., the anatomical level enabling screening for asymptomatic coronary artery disease) were 35.3% for heart rates <110 bpm, 35.6% for heart rates <100 bpm, 40% for heart rates <90 bpm, and 60% for heart rates <80 bpm in group 1 and 11.3, 12.2, 8.8, and 10% for the corresponding thresholds in group 2 (P<0.05). In both groups of patients, coronary artery imaging was obtained from standard CT angiograms of the chest. The improvement in coronary imaging with dual-source CT suggests that high heart rates should no longer be considered as contraindications for ECG-gated CT angiograms of the chest whenever clinically relevant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Imaging, Hospital Calmette, University Center of Lille, Boulevard Jules Leclercq, 59037 Lille cedex, France.
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pansini
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Remy-Jardin
authors.forename: Nunzia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tacelli
authors.forename: Jean-Baptiste
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Faivre
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Flohr
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Deken
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duhamel
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Remy
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055425:Respiratory-Gated Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*