Interquartile range

Cardiology

Coronary artery disease

Coronary Calcium Score

Myocardial infarction

Internal medicine

Confidence interval

Hazard ratio

Medicine

Coronary artery calcium

Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Reliable methods for predicting myocardial infarction in patients with established coronary artery disease are lacking. Coronary 18F-sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) positron emission tomography (PET) provides an assessment of atherosclerosis activity.This study assessed whether 18F-NaF PET predicts myocardial infarction and provides additional prognostic information to current methods of risk stratification.Patients with known coronary artery disease underwent 18F-NaF PET computed tomography and were followed up for fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction over 42 months (interquartile range: 31 to 49 months). Total coronary 18F-NaF uptake was determined by the coronary microcalcification activity (CMA).In a post hoc analysis of data collected for prospective observational studies, the authors studied 293 study participants (age: 65 ± 9 years; 84% men), of whom 203 (69%) showed increased coronary 18F-NaF activity (CMA >0). Fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction occurred only in patients with increased coronary 18F-NaF activity (20 of 203 with a CMA >0 vs. 0 of 90 with a CMA of 0; p < 0.001). On receiver operator curve analysis, fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction prediction was highest for 18F-NaF CMA, outperforming coronary calcium scoring, modified Duke coronary artery disease index and Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) and Secondary Manifestations of Arterial Disease (SMART) risk scores (area under the curve: 0.76 vs. 0.54, 0.62, 0.52, and 0.54, respectively; p < 0.001 for all). Patients with CMA >1.56 had a >7-fold increase in fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction (hazard ratio: 7.1; 95% confidence interval: 2.2 to 25.1; p = 0.003) independent of age, sex, risk factors, segment involvement and coronary calcium scores, presence of coronary stents, coronary stenosis, REACH and SMART scores, the Duke coronary artery disease index, and recent myocardial infarction.In patients with established coronary artery disease, 18F-NaF PET provides powerful independent prediction of fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction.

Coronary 18F-Sodium Fluoride Uptake Predicts Outcomes in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease