Controversies in nuclear cardiology: CT calcium scoring should be routinely performed in patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging who have a normal test result (and should be routinely performed before myocardial perfusion imaging)--pro.

摘要

Serial testing is an area fraught with controversy and can only be acceptable if the second and subsequent tests provide sufficient incremental value to justify the cost and potential negative effects associated with diagnostic evaluations. The relationship between myo-cardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and coronary artery calcium scanning (CAC) highlights this complexity and can potentially change major diagnostic paradigms. The simpler issue is whether patients with a normal MPI should undergo CAC. The more complex question is whether CAC should precede, and serve as a gatekeeper, for MPI.