SPECT identifies 'silent' cardiovascular risk in diabeti...( possibility of future cardiac events....),Health

"Our results indicate that diabetic patients should be aware that although they might not experience chest pain during stress-test exercising, they are actually at increased risk for cardiac events, and SPECT can provide important information about that risk," said Dr. Prior. "This is also true for patients who are physically unable to perform a bicycle or treadmill test or who presented with ECG abnormalities on an earlier stress test."

The authors concluded that SPECT examination should not be deferred in an admission or emergency cardiac assessment simply because the diabetic patient is asymptomatic or unable to exercise. "Myocardial perfusion SPECT should be performed as part of the work-up of diabetic patients," said Dr. Prior. "Our results indicate that this is especially important in those cases in which ECG abnormalities are present and/or in cases of elevated blood levels of cardiac enzymes (troponin)." Prior and his colleagues also recommended that nuclear medicine physicians work more closely with ER staff to facilitate the availability of SPECT MPI for the evaluation of diabetic patients.

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Contact: Karen Lubieniecki
karenlub@aol.com
703-683-0357
Society of Nuclear Medicine
17-Jun-2002