Heart imaging findings tracked different risks in chronic coronary disease
Heart scarring and pumping-function measurements predicted a combined clinical outcome. Associations involving reduced blood supply depended on the outcome and imaging method.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
More scarred heart segments and lower pumping-function measurements were associated with the combined clinical outcome, which included cardiovascular death, heart attack, resuscitated cardiac arrest and hospitalization for unstable angina or heart failure. Links involving reduced blood supply varied by outcome and imaging method. These associations do not show whether acting on test results improves care.
The abstract gives no follow-up duration or absolute event rates. This analysis describes prognostic associations and does not establish that selecting or acting on a particular test improves outcomes.
What the measurements captured
Researchers examined scarred and ischemic heart segments, alongside left ventricular ejection fraction, a pumping-function measurement taken at rest or during stress. They asked how these test findings related to clinical events, rather than testing an imaging-guided treatment strategy.
Different outcomes gave different results
Ischemic segments predicted spontaneous and procedure-related heart attacks, but their association with the combined outcome was less conclusive. Cardiac magnetic resonance measurements of ischemia predicted the combined outcome and spontaneous heart attacks, making the imaging method relevant to interpretation.
The original publication
Comparative Prognosis by Stress ECG and Stress Imaging: Results From the ISCHEMIA Trial.
Shaw LJ, Phillips LM, Leipsic J et al.
JACC Cardiovasc Imaging · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40637654
- Record checked
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