ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the prognostic value of myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in patients with known or suggested coronary artery disease compared with technetium-99m sestamibi single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)-myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of SPECT-MPI is well established for patients with coronary artery disease. It is less well defined by MCE. METHODS: In all, 51 consecutive patients with suggested coronary artery disease prospectively underwent MCE and SPECT-MPI at baseline and after dipyridamole infusion. MCE and SPECT-MPI were independently analyzed for myocardial perfusion. Cardiac events during the follow-up period were determined, and event-free survival was calculated for MCE and SPECT-MPI techniques separately. RESULTS: MCE (log rank P < .005) and SPECT-MPI (log rank P < .05) demonstrated equivalent event-free survival. The negative predictive value for events for both MCE and SPECT-MPI was 100%. CONCLUSION: MCE accurately classifies patients at risk for cardiac events and provides prognostic information comparable with validated SPECT-MPI techniques.
