Comparison of Diagnostic Accuracy for Detecting coronary Artery Disease of Dipyridamole 99mTc-MIBI Myocardial SPECT and It's Defect Map between Men and Women

To evaluate the usefulness and differences in diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD) between men and women of intravenous dipyridamole 99mTc-MIBI myocardial SPECT, we obtained 99mTc-MIBI myocardial SPECT and compared with the findings of coronary angiographies. Ninety eight male and 37 female patients who underwent dipyridamole 99mTc- MIBI myocardial imaging within one month of cardiac catheterization were studied. Scans were considered abnormal if perfusion defect was detected and the defect size was more than 12% for left anterior descending artery (LAD) and circumflex(LCX) and 8% for right coronary artery (RCA) territories. Lesions ≥ 50% luminal diameter narrowing were considered significant CAD. Overall sensitivity for detection of CAD was 94.3% in men and 96.4% in women; specificity was 70% in men and 52.6% in women (P=not significant, ns). Vessel-matched sensitivity was 75.3% in men and 72.7% in women (P=ns); specificity was 84.6% in men and 67.9% in women (P<0.025). For individual coronary artery, the sensitivity in men and women was 87.7%, 81.8% for LAD; 78%, 83.3% for RCA and 52.2%, 46.7% for LCX (P=ns); the specificity was 80%, 40% for LAD (P<0.01), 82.5%, 68.4% for RCA, 88.9%, 86.4% for LCX (P=ns). The hemodynamic parameter after intravenous dipyridamole in men and women were significantly changed; the heart rate was increased and systolic, diastolic blood pressure was decreased. Adverse effects were reported in 58.8% of men and 72.7% in women (P=ns). The incidence of chest pain and headache were higher in women. There was no significant difference in the incidences of nausea, abdominal pain, dizziness, facial flushing, dyspnea. In conclusion, dipyridamole 99mTc-MIBI myocardial SPECT is a safe, noninvasive test for evaluation of CAD. There was no gender difference to detect CAD, but more false-positive rate in women especially in the territory of LAD.