Coronary Artery Disease in Women: Lessons Learned from Single-Center SPECT Registry and Future Directions for INOCA Patients.

Background and objectives: Myocardial perfusion imaging with cardiac single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) is widely available for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) with high diagnostic and prognostic accuracy for women. A large proportion of symptomatic women with true myocardial perfusion defects in SPECT referred to coronary angiography have an absence of CAD-a condition named INOCA (ischemia with nonobstructive CAD). Additionally, the INOCA endotypes are rarely correctly diagnosed, and therefore, no tailored therapy is prescribed. Materials and methods: The cardiac SPECT for women was performed from 2018 to 2021. Patients with perfusion defect were analyzed according to further prescribed diagnostic tests used to diagnose CAD. According to the diagnostic criteria, patients with INOCA were selected as candidates for invasive microvascular physiology measurements. The correlation was calculated between SPECT results and clinical characteristics, symptoms, and risk factors. Results: A total of 726 women with suspected CAD were analyzed. True myocardial perfusion defects were detected in 125 patients (17.2%). During coronary angiography in 70 (56.0%) women, atherosclerosis in epicardial arteries was not observed. In 17 (20.9%) patients, obstructive CAD was present. Correlation was found between perfusion defect in SPECT and cardiovascular risk factors, including overweight, obesity, arterial hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Women with typical angina were more likely to have INOCA, but with "noncardiac" symptoms-CAD. In total, 68 female patients met three inclusion criteria for INOCA and were selected as candidates for invasive diagnostic testing. Conclusions: The created registry proves the important role of cardiac SPECT and great need for the development of invasively detected physiological measurements. The combination of both interventions could significantly change the future directions for INOCA patients, improving treatment strategies and clinical outcomes, especially knowing the number of risk factors and varying clinical presentation. The study will be continued by performing invasive testing of coronary microvascular function to expand the competence about what is known about INOCA patients.

Glomerular Filtration Rate as a Prognostic Factor for Long-Term Mortality after Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

BACKGROUND: In-hospital mortality for patients presenting with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) has been reported to be up to 7 times higher for patients with decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). However, few studies have assessed its effect on long-term mortality. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of eGFR and creatinine clearance (CrCl) on long-term all-cause mortality following acute PE in association with other routine laboratory analyses and comorbidities. PATIENTS/METHODS: The prospective study enrolled 141 consecutive patients presenting with objectively confirmed acute PE. Demographic, clinical data, comorbidities, and laboratory values were recorded. CrCl and GFR were estimated using the Cockcroft-Gault, MDRD, and chronic kidney disease (CKD)-EPI equations. Patients were followed up at 90 days and 1 year after the event. RESULTS: In univariate analyses, age, active cancer, PE severity index (PESI), CrCl and eGFR, D-dimer value, and high-density lipoprotein level were found to be significantly associated with mortality in 90 days and 1 year. Additionally, body mass index was significant in the 1-year follow-up. CrCl by Cockcroft-Gault (90-day: area under the curve [AUC] 0.763; 1-year: AUC 0.718) demonstrated higher discriminatory power for predicting mortality than eGFR by the MDRD (AUC 0.686; AUC 0.609) and CKD-EPI (AUC 0.697; AUC 0.630) equations. In multivariate analyses, active cancer, CrCl by Cockcroft-Gault (90-day: hazard ratio [HR] 0.948, 95% CI 0.919-0.979; 1-year: HR 0.967, 95% CI 0.943-0.991), eGFR by CKD-EPI (90-day: HR 0.948, 95% CI 0.915-0.983; 1-year: HR 0.971, 95% CI 0.945-0.998) were found to be independent predictors of mortality. eGFR by MDRD, D-dimer, and PESI value were significant prognostic factors for 90-day mortality. CONCLUSION: Decreased renal function is a prognostic factor for increased all-cause mortality 90 days and 1 year after acute PE.

Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension Mimicking Acute Pulmonary Embolism: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare form of pulmonary hypertension which is often caused by recurrent emboli. The reported prevalence in Latvia is 15.7 cases per million inhabitants. Several risk factors predispose patients to develop chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, including the presence of chronic myeloproliferative diseases and splenectomy. CASE REPORT We present a case of a 68-year-old woman with a variant of chronic myeloproliferative disease, essential thrombocythemia, splenectomy, and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, in whom chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension was mimicking acute pulmonary embolism. On admission, the patient had progressive dyspnea, elevated right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) 60-70 mmHg, and elevated thrombocytes, C-reactive protein, BNP, and d-dimer levels. These results, as well as the results of thoracic computed tomography angiography with contrast, supported the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism. During the sequent follow-up visit after 3 months of effective anticoagulant therapy, the patient had elevated RVSP: 55-60 mmHg. Therefore, right heart catheterization was performed, in which it was found that mPAP was 37 mmHg with PCWP 5 mm Hg and PVR 8.9 Wood units, confirming the CTEPH diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS Patients who are at high risk of thrombosis need an increased level of monitoring to be properly evaluated. An easy solution to misdiagnosis of CTEPH with an acute pulmonary embolism could be taking scrupulous patient history, which can reveal multiple risk factors of CTEPH development. The subsequent assessment of risk factors can lead to a more appropriate consideration of CTEPH diagnosis vs acute pulmonary embolism.