title: Prediction of 8-year cardiovascular outcomes in patients with systemic arterial hypertension: value of stress (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion imaging in a high-risk cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Systemic arterial hypertension is a strong and prevalent cardiovascular risk factor. Currently, information on the very long-term prognostic value of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in patients with systemic arterial hypertension is lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the value of stress (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin MPI for the prediction of very long-term outcome in these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population consisted of 608 patients with systemic arterial hypertension who underwent exercise or dobutamine stress (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin MPI for the assessment of known or suspected coronary artery disease. Follow-up was successful in 600 (99%) patients. The endpoints were all-cause mortality, cardiac death, nonfatal infarction, and coronary revascularization. Kaplan-Meier survival cures were constructed and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of very long-term outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients was 59 ± 10 years, and 65% of them were male. MPI findings were normal in 301 patients (50%). Myocardial perfusion abnormalities were fixed in 162 (27%) and reversible in 137 (23%) patients. During a median 8.1-year follow-up, 241 (40%) patients died (121 cardiac deaths), 52 (9%) had a nonfatal myocardial infarction, and 128 (21%) underwent coronary revascularization. Survival curves in patients with a low vs a high summed difference score diverged up to 5 years after the test was performed. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that SPECT MPI provided incremental prognostic information up to 5 years after the test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Stress (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin MPI provides incremental prognostic information for the prediction of cardiovascular outcome in patients with systemic arterial hypertension. Patients with normal stress MPI have a significantly better prognosis as compared with those with an abnormal study, up to 5 years after the test is performed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Thoraxcenter, Erasmus Medical Center, Room Ba304, 's-Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marisa C G Tjong Joe
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wai
authors.forename: Machiel J M
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ottenhof
authors.forename: Hendrik J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Boiten
authors.forename: Roelf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Valkema
authors.forename: Ron T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: van Domburg
authors.forename: Arend F L
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Schinkel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055414:Myocardial Perfusion Imaging; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; C078700:technetium tc-99m tetrofosmin