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Background Recent trials support the role of cardiac CT in the evaluation of symptomatic patients suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD); however, body mass index (BMI) has been reported to negatively impact CT image quality. Purpose To compare initial use of CT versus invasive coronary angiography (ICA) on clinical outcomes in patients with stable chest pain stratified by BMI category. Materials and Methods This prospective study represents a prespecified BMI subgroup analysis of the multicenter Diagnostic Imaging Strategies for Patients with Stable Chest Pain and Intermediate Risk of Coronary Artery Disease (DISCHARGE) trial conducted between October 2015 and April 2019. Adult patients with stable chest pain and a CAD pretest probability of 10%-60% were randomly assigned to undergo initial CT or ICA. The primary end point was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or stroke. The secondary end point was an expanded MACE composite, including transient ischemic attack, and major procedure-related complications. Competing risk analyses were performed using the Fine and Gray subdistribution Cox proportional hazard model to assess the impact of the relationship between BMI and initial management with CT or ICA on the study outcomes, whereas noncardiovascular death and unknown causes of death were considered competing risk events. Results Among the 3457 participants included, 831 (24.0%), 1358 (39.3%), and 1268 (36.7%) had a BMI of less than 25, between 25 and 30, and greater than 30 kg/m 2 , respectively. No interaction was found between CT or ICA and BMI for MACE ( P = .29), the expanded MACE composite ( P = .38), or major procedure-related complications ( P = .49). Across all BMI subgroups, expanded MACE composite events (CT, 10 of 409 [2.4%] to 23 of 697 [3.3%]; ICA, 26 of 661 [3.9%] to 21 of 422 [5.1%]) and major procedure-related complications during initial management (CT, one of 638 [0.2%] to five of 697 [0.7%]; ICA, nine of 630 [1.4%] to 12 of 422 [2.9%]) were less frequent in the CT versus ICA group. Participants with a BMI exceeding 30 kg/m² exhibited a higher nondiagnostic CT rate (7.1%, P = .044) compared to participants with lower BMI. Conclusion There was no evidence of a difference in outcomes between CT and ICA across the three BMI subgroups. Clinical trial registration no. NCT02400229 © RSNA, 2024 Supplemental material is available for this article.

Purpose To assess concordance and relative prognostic utility between central core laboratory and local site interpretation for significant coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiovascular events. Materials and Methods In the Prospective Multicenter Imaging Study for Evaluation of Chest Pain (PROMISE) trial, readers at 193 North American sites interpreted coronary computed tomographic (CT) angiography as part of the clinical evaluation of stable chest pain. Readers at a central core laboratory also interpreted CT angiography blinded to clinical data, site interpretation, and outcomes. Significant CAD was defined as stenosis greater than or equal to 50%; cardiovascular events were defined as a composite of cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction. Results In 4347 patients (51.8% women; mean age ± standard deviation, 60.4 years ± 8.2), core laboratory and site interpretations were discordant in 16% (683 of 4347), most commonly because of a finding of significant CAD by site but not by core laboratory interpretation (80%, 544 of 683). Overall, core laboratory interpretation resulted in 41% fewer patients being reported as having significant CAD (14%, 595 of 4347 vs 23%, 1000 of 4347; P < .001). Over a median follow-up period of 25 months, 1.3% (57 of 4347) sustained myocardial infarction or cardiovascular death. The C statistic for future myocardial infarction or cardiovascular death was 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54, 0.68) for the core laboratory and 0.63 (95% CI: 0.56, 0.70) for the sites. Conclusion Compared with interpretation by readers at 193 North American sites, standardized core laboratory interpretation classified 41% fewer patients as having significant CAD. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article. Clinical trial registration no. NCT01174550.

A 69-year-old woman presented with symptoms of presumed cardiac involvement of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis, otherwise known as Ormond disease. Distinct pericoronary tissue proliferations were depicted at cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and coronary computed tomographic (CT) angiography. On images, the coronary manifestation was termed the "mistletoe sign." The presence of the mistletoe sign on cardiac MR and coronary CT angiographic images is probably rare, but it might be a characteristic manifestation of retroperitoneal fibrosis. With the increasing number of noninvasive cardiac imaging tests performed worldwide, the recognition of the mistletoe sign could be helpful in diagnosing retroperitoneal fibrosis. © RSNA, 2016 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Purpose: To determine the association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the presence of high-risk coronary atherosclerotic plaque as assessed with coronary computed tomographic (CT) angiography., Materials and Methods: This study was approved by the local ethics committees; informed consent was obtained. Patients randomized to the coronary CT angiography arm of the Rule Out Myocardial Infarction using Computer Assisted Tomography, or ROMICAT, II trial who underwent both nonenhanced CT to assess calcium score and contrast material-enhanced coronary CT angiography were included. Readers assessed coronary CT angiography images for the presence of coronary plaque, significant stenosis (≥50%), and high-risk plaque features (positive remodeling, CT attenuation < 30 HU, napkin-ring sign, spotty calcium). NAFLD was defined as hepatic steatosis at nonenhanced CT (liver minus spleen CT attenuation < 1 HU) without evidence of clinical liver disease, liver cirrhosis, or alcohol abuse. To determine the association between high-risk plaque and NAFLD, univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed, with high-risk plaque as a dependent variable and NAFLD, traditional risk factors, and extent of coronary atherosclerosis as independent variables., Results: Overall, 182 (40.9%) of 445 patients had CT evidence of NAFLD. High-risk plaque was more frequent in patients with NAFLD than in patients without NAFLD (59.3% vs 19.0%, respectively; P < .001). The association between NAFLD and high-risk plaque (odds ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval: 1.18, 3.85) persisted after adjusting for the extent and severity of coronary atherosclerosis and traditional risk factors., Conclusion: NAFLD is associated with advanced high-risk coronary plaque, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and the extent and severity of coronary artery disease.

Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of 64-section multidetector computed tomography (CT) for the assessment of perfusion defects (PDs), regional wall motion (RWM), and global left ventricular (LV) function., Materials and Methods: All myocardial infarction (MI) patients signed informed consent. The IRB approved the study and it was HIPAA-compliant. Cardiac multidetector CT was performed in 102 patients (34 with recent acute MI and 68 without). Multidetector CT images were analyzed for myocardial PD, RWM abnormalities, and LV function. Global LV function and RWM were compared with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) by using multidetector CT. PD was detected by using multidetector CT and was correlated with cardiac biomarkers and single photon emission CT (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging. Multidetector CT diagnosis of acute MI was made on the basis of matching the presence of PD with RWM abnormalities compared with clinical evaluation., Results: Correlation between multidetector CT and TTE for global function (r = 0.68) and RWM (kappa = 0.79) was good. The size of PD on multidetector CT had a moderate correlation against SPECT (r = 0.48, -7% +/- 9). There was good to excellent correlation between cardiac biomarkers and the percentage infarct size by using multidetector CT (r = 0.82 for creatinine phosphokinase, r = 0.76 for creatinine phosphokinase of the muscle band, and r = 0.75 for troponin). For detection of acute MI in patients, multidetector CT sensitivity was 94% (32 of 34) and specificity was 97% (66 of 68). Multidetector CT had an excellent interobserver reliability for ejection fraction quantification (r = 0.83), as compared with TTE (r = 0.68)., Conclusion: Patients with acute MI can be identified by using multidetector CT on the basis of RWM abnormalities and PD.

Purpose: To prospectively compare 64-section multidetector computed tomography (CT) and cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for the early assessment of myocardial enhancement and infarct size after acute reperfused myocardial infarction (MI)., Materials and Methods: The study was HIPAA compliant and was approved by the institutional review board. All participants gave written informed consent. Twenty-one patients (18 men; mean age, 60 years +/- 13 [standard deviation]) were examined with 64-section multidetector CT and cardiac MR imaging 5 days or fewer after a first reperfused MI. Multidetector CT was performed during the first pass of contrast material to assess myocardial perfusion and detect microvascular obstruction (no reflow). In 15 patients, a second scan was performed 7 minutes later to assess total infarct size by using delayed hyperenhancement. Early hypoenhancement and delayed hyperenhancement were compared between multidetector CT and cardiac MR imaging with Pearson correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis., Results: Early hypoenhancement was recognized on all multidetector CT and cardiac MR images. Delayed hyperenhancement was observed with cardiac MR imaging at all examinations and with multidetector CT at 11 of 15 examinations. While signal intensity differences between hypoperfused and normal myocardium were comparable for first-pass multidetector CT and cardiac MR imaging, cardiac MR imaging had a far better contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for delayed acquisitions than did CT (P < .001). Hypoenhanced areas (as a percentage of left ventricular mass) at first-pass multidetector CT (11% +/- 6) correlated well with those at first-pass cardiac MR imaging (7% +/- 4, R(2) = 0.72). Delayed-enhancement multidetector CT (13% +/- 9) correlated well with delayed-enhancement cardiac MR imaging (15% +/- 7, R(2) = 0.55). Quantification of delayed hypoenhancement (n = 12) had very good correlation between multidetector CT (4% +/- 4) and cardiac MR imaging (3% +/- 2) (R(2) = 0.85)., Conclusion: Early and late hypoenhancement showed good CNR and correlated well between multidetector CT and cardiac MR imaging.

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of multidetector computed tomography (CT) coronary angiography for detection of hemodynamically significant (>or=50%) stenoses by using various image postprocessing methods, with conventional coronary angiography as the reference standard., Materials and Methods: The analysis used data from previous studies, use of which had been approved by the Institutional Review Board. Sixteen-section multidetector CT data sets for 40 patients (30 men, 10 women; mean age 56 years +/- 8; mean heart rate, 61 beats per minute +/- 6) were evaluated. Six independent investigators evaluated the data sets for the presence of stenoses with diameter reduction of 50% or more, by using either exclusively transverse images, free oblique multiplanar reconstructions (MPRs), free oblique maximum intensity projections (MIPs, 5 mm thick), prerendered curved MPRs, prerendered curved MIPs, or prerendered three-dimensional volume rendered reconstructions (VRTs). Evaluation results were compared with conventional coronary angiography for each artery in a blinded fashion (chi(2) test)., Results: Overall, 35 coronary artery stenoses were present. Percentage of evaluable arteries and accuracy for detecting stenosis (percentages of accurately classified arteries were, respectively, 99% and 88% for transverse, 99% and 91% for oblique MPR, 94% and 86% for oblique MIP, 94% and 83% for curved MIP, 93% and 81% for curved MPR, and 91% and 73% for VRT). Accuracy was significantly higher for oblique MPR than for curved MPR (P=.01), curved MIP (P=.03), and VRT (P<.001)., Conclusion: The evaluation of multidetector CT coronary angiography with interactive image display methods, especially interactive oblique MPRs, permits higher diagnostic accuracy than evaluation of prerendered images (curved MPR, curved MIP, or VRT images)., ((c) RSNA, 2007.)

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of 16-section multidetector computed tomography (CT) for assessment of plaques in phantoms and ex vivo coronary arteries, with intravascular ultrasonography (US) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) as reference standards., Materials and Methods: Research protocol was HIPAA compliant and approved by institutional review board, without informed consent required. Blood vessel and lesion composition phantoms and ex vivo coronary arteries were imaged with 16-section CT. Wall areas of phantoms and ex vivo coronary arteries were measured with multidetector CT and intravascular US. Sensitivity and specificity for lipid detection were determined in lesion composition phantoms. CT numbers of blood vessel wall were determined in ex vivo coronary arteries and compared with lesion classification results from OCT. Agreement in dimensional measurements was compared (paired t tests). CT numbers within blood vessel wall of CT cross sections classified as lipid rich, fibrous, and calcified at OCT were compared (Kruskal-Wallis tests)., Results: Mean blood vessel wall areas measured with CT and US in phantoms were 9.2 mm(2) +/- 1.8 (standard deviation) and 10.4 mm(2) +/- 3.4 (bias, -1.3 mm(2) +/- 3.1; P < .05), respectively. Mean blood vessel wall areas measured in ex vivo coronary arteries with CT and US were 10.9 mm(2) +/- 4.1 and 9.1 mm(2) +/- 3.1 (bias, 1.8 mm(2) +/- 3.0; P < .001), respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of 93% and 92%, respectively, for identification of lipid-rich lesions were observed in lesion composition phantoms. Mean CT numbers in blood vessel wall of ex vivo coronary arteries identified at OCT as predominantly lipid rich, fibrous, and calcified were 29 HU +/- 43, 101 HU +/- 21, and 135 HU +/- 199, respectively (P < .001)., Conclusion: Determination of composition of individual plaques from attenuation values can be more challenging because of overlapping values for different tissue types., ((c) RSNA, 2006.)

Current strategies for the triage of patients who have chest pain but normal initial cardiac enzyme levels and nondiagnostic electrocardiograms do not permit efficient risk stratification. The potentially fatal consequences and high malpractice costs of missed acute coronary syndromes lead every year to the unnecessary hospital admission of about 2.8 million patients who present with acute chest pain in emergency departments in the United States. Most of these patients are at very low risk for an acute coronary syndrome. However, the standard clinical work-up does not provide information about the presence and extent of coronary artery disease. In most patients (80%-94%) with an acute coronary syndrome, a significant coronary artery stenosis can be detected with selective coronary angiography. High levels of diagnostic accuracy also have been established for the detection of significant coronary artery stenosis with the use of 16- and 64-section multidetector computed tomography (CT) in patients with stable angina. Preliminary data indicate that multidetector CT also can help quantify and characterize coronary atherosclerotic plaque and that the CT findings are in good agreement with those at intravascular ultrasonography. Although multidetector CT provides accurate information about the presence of coronary artery disease, large blinded observational studies are warranted to identify CT characteristics with high accuracy for diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes. Such information would enable the conduct of randomized controlled trials to determine whether the detection of coronary stenosis and plaque with multidetector CT improves triage and reduces the costs or increases the cost-effectiveness of management of acute chest pain., (Copyright RSNA, 2006)

Purpose: To assess the role of contrast material-enhanced retrospectively electrocardiographically (ECG) gated multi-detector row computed tomography (CT) in the detection of acute myocardial infarction in a porcine model of total coronary occlusion., Materials and Methods: Seven Yorkshire farm pigs were studied with contrast-enhanced retrospectively ECG-gated multi-detector row CT 3 hours after total occlusion of the distal left anterior descending artery (n = 5) or the second diagonal branch (n = 2). Reformatted short-axis end-systolic and end-diastolic CT data sets were assessed for myocardial perfusion deficits, coronary occlusion, and abnormal myocardial wall motion. Perfusion deficits were compared with microsphere-determined blood flow and triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC)-stained tissue samples for infarct assessment by using Bland-Altman analysis and analysis of variance., Results: Myocardial perfusion deficits, occlusion of the left anterior descending artery or second diagonal branch, and akinesis of the infarcted segment were identified in all five animals that completed the study. One animal died, and one data set had nondiagnostic image quality. The CT end-diastolic (mean, 16.1% +/- 4.8 [SD]; range, 8.6%-22.2%) and end-systolic (mean, 17.0% +/- 6.4; range, 8.7%-26.8%) volume of perfusion deficit was similar to that of infarcted tissue at TTC staining (mean, 13.6% +/- 6.0; range, 7.8%-30.9%). Infarcted myocardium at CT demonstrated a 76.1% reduction in microsphere-determined blood flow and a significant reduction of myocardial CT attenuation compared with normal myocardium (P <.01). Myocardial wall motion analysis demonstrated absence of systolic wall thickening in infarcted myocardium., Conclusion: Multi-detector row CT with retrospective ECG gating permits the detection and further characterization of acute myocardial infarction in a porcine model of complete coronary occlusion., (Copyright RSNA, 2004)