title: Relationship of SYNTAX score to myocardial ischemia as assessed on myocardial perfusion imaging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although the Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score is used to characterize coronary anatomy based on 9 anatomic criteria such as lesion location and complexity, the relationship between SYNTAX score and myocardial ischemia has yet to be elucidated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 158 consecutive patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD), who underwent both (99m)Tc-sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and coronary angiography, were evaluated. Stress SPECT was assessed using a 17-segment model, and the percentage of the myocardial defect scores (DS) was calculated. In 37 patients with intermediate-high SYNTAX scores (>22), the number of men and the prevalence of multi-vessel CAD were significantly higher, and the % stress and ischemic DS were significantly greater than in 121 patients with low SYNTAX scores (≤22). Coronary risk factors, however, were similar between the 2 groups. The % stress and ischemic DS significantly correlated with SYNTAX score. In patients with a low SYNTAX score, % stress and ischemic DS also significantly correlated with the SYNTAX score, whereas no such correlation was observed in the intermediate-high SYNTAX score group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SYNTAX score correlated well with myocardial ischemia as assessed on stress SPECT in general. The higher the SYNTAX score, however, the less clear was the correlation with the extent of myocardial ischemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Tokyo Medical University.
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Taishiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chikamori
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hida
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.forename: Chie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shiba
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Usui
authors.forename: Tsuguhisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hatano
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamashina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055414:Myocardial Perfusion Imaging; D062645:Percutaneous Coronary Intervention; D011859:Radiography; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon