Sex Effect in the Decision to Perform Invasive Coronary Angiography in Patients With Chronic Coronary Syndrome After Undergoing Vasodilator Stress MRI.

BACKGROUND

Stress cardiac MRI permits comprehensive evaluation of patients with known or suspected chronic coronary syndromes (CCS). The impact of sex on the use of invasive cardiac angiography (ICA) after vasodilator stress cardiac MRI is unclear.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of sex on ICA use after vasodilator stress cardiac MRI.

STUDY TYPE: Retrospective.

POPULATION: A total of 6229 consecutive patients (age [mean ± standard deviation] 65.2 ± 11.5 years, 38.1% women).

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: A 5-T; a steady-state free-precession cine sequence; stress first-pass perfusion imaging; late enhancement imaging.

ASSESSMENT: Patients underwent vasodilator stress cardiac MRI for known or suspected CCS. The ischemic burden (at stress first-pass perfusion imaging) was computed (17-segment model).

STATISTICAL TESTS: Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the potential differential association between ischemic burden and use of cardiac MRI-related ICA across sex.

RESULTS

A total of 1109 (17.8%) patients were referred to ICA, among which there were significantly more men (762, 19.7%) than women (347, 14.6%). Overall, after multivariate adjustment, female sex was not associated with lower use of ICA (odds ratio [OR] = 0.99; confidence interval [CI] 95%: 0.84-1.18, P = 0.934). However, significant sex differences were detected across ischemic burden. Whereas women with nonischemic vasodilator stress cardiac MRI (0 ischemic segments) were less commonly submitted to ICA (OR = 0.49; CI 95%: 0.35-0.69) in patients with ischemia (>1 ischemic segment), adjusted use of ICA was more frequent in women than men (OR = 1.27; CI 95%: 1.1-1.5).

DATA

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with known or suspected CCS submitted to undergo vasodilator stress cardiac MRI, cardiac MRI-related ICA may be overused in men without ischemia. Furthermore, ICA referral in patients with negative ischemia resulted in greater odds of revascularization in men.

EVIDENCE LEVEL: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 5.