Prognostic value of I-123 15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(R,S) methylpentadecanoic acid myocardial imaging in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Although iodine 123 15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(R , S) methylpentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) can assess abnormal utilization of fatty acid in the diseased myocardium, the prognostic value of BMIPP imaging at rest in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) remains unclear.

METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 270 patients were included by a retrospective search of the existing databases of 4 institutions. In addition to hard events, consisting of cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction, any significant events including death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, heart failure, and unstable angina were assessed. During a median follow-up of 3.9 years, 33 patients had significant events, among whom 10 had hard events. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates revealed a hard event-free survival rate of 98% at 3 years in patients with a BMIPP defect score lower than 5 but 93% in those with a defect score of 5 or greater ( P = .03). With regard to significant events, the analysis showed an event-free survival rate of 92% at 3 years in patients with a BMIPP defect score lower than 5 but 80% in those with a defect score of 5 or greater ( P = .0003).

CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that resting BMIPP imaging has prognostic value and may have a role in the risk stratification of patients with known or suspected CAD.