Sex-Specific Stress Perfusion Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Suspected Ischemic Heart Disease Insights From SPINS Retrospective Registry

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality in women, but current noninvasive cardiac imaging techniques have sex-specific limitations. OBJECTIVES In this study, the authors sought to investigate the effect of sex on the prognostic utility and downstream invasive revascularization and costs of stress perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) for suspected CVD. METHODS Sex-specific prognostic performance was evaluated in a 2,349-patient multicenter SPINS (Stress CMR Perfusion Imaging in the United States [SPINS] Study) Registry. The primary outcome measure was a composite of cardiovascular death and nonfatal myocardial infarction; secondary outcomes were hospitalization for unstable angina or heart failure, and late unplanned coronary artery bypass grafting. RESULTS SPINS included 1,104 women (47% of cohort); women had higher prevalence of chest pain (62% vs 50%; P < 0.0001) but lower use of medical therapies. At the 5.4-year median follow-up, women with normal stress CMR had a low annualized rate of primary composite outcome similar to men (0.54%/y vs 0.75%/y, respectively; P <1/4> NS). In contrast, women with abnormal CMR were at higher risk for both primary (3.74%/y vs 0.54%/y; P < 0.0001) and secondary (9.8%/y vs 1.6%/y; P < 0.0001) outcomes compared with women with normal CMR. Abnormal stress CMR was an independent predictor for the primary (HR: 2.64 [95% CI: 1.20-5.90]; P 1/4 0.02) and secondary (HR: 2.09 [95% CI: 1.43-3.08]; P < 0.0001) outcome measures. There was no effect modification for sex. Women had lower rates of invasive coronary angiography (3.6% vs 7.3%; P <1/4> 0.0001) and downstream costs ($114 vs $171; P 1/4 0.001) at 90 days following CMR. There was no effect of sex on diagnostic image quality. CONCLUSIONS Stress CMR demonstrated excellent prognostic performance with lower rates of invasive coronary angiography referral in women. Stress CMR should be considered as a first-line noninvasive imaging tool for the evaluation of women. (Stress CMR Perfusion Imaging in the United States [SPINS] Study [SPINS]; NCT03192891) (J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2023;16:749-764) (c) 2023 Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

Automated summary

This study investigated the impact of sex on the prognostic utility, invasive revascularization, and costs of stress perfusion CMR for suspected CVD. The findings showed that women with normal CMR had a lower rate of cardiovascular events compared to men, while women with abnormal CMR had a higher risk of cardiovascular events. Additionally, women had lower rates of invasive coronary angiography and associated costs following CMR.