Ischemia and No Obstructive Stenosis (INOCA) at CT Angiography, CT Myocardial Perfusion, Invasive Coronary Angiography, and SPECT: The CORE320 Study

Background CT allows evaluation of atherosclerosis, coronary stenosis, and myocardial ischemia. Data on the characterization of ischemia and no obstructive stenosis (INOCA) at CT remain limited. Purpose This was an observational study to describe the prevalence of INOCA defined at coronary CT angiography with CT perfusion imaging and associated clinical and atherosclerotic characteristics. The analysis was also performed for the combination of invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and SPECT as a secondary aim. Materials and Methods The prospective CORE320 study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00934037) enrolled participants between November 2009 and July 2011 who were symptomatic and referred for clinically indicated ICA. Participants underwent CT angiography, rest-adenosine stress CT perfusion, and rest-stress SPECT prior to ICA. For this ancillary study, the following three phenotypes were considered, using either CT angiography/CT perfusion or ICA/SPECT data: (a) participants with obstructive (≥50%) stenosis, (b) participants with no obstructive stenosis but ischemia (ie, INOCA) on the basis of abnormal perfusion imaging results, and (c) participants with no obstructive stenosis and normal perfusion imaging results. Clinical characteristics and CT angiography atherosclerotic plaque measures were compared by using the Pearson χ2 or Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Results A total of 381 participants (mean age, 62 years [interquartile range, 56-68 years]; 129 [34%] women) were evaluated. A total of 31 (27%) of 115 participants without obstructive (≥50%) stenosis at CT angiography had abnormal CT perfusion findings. The corresponding value for ICA/SPECT was 45 (30%) of 151. The prevalence of INOCA was 31 (8%) of 381 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5%, 11%) with CT angiography/CT perfusion and 45 (12%) of 381 (95% CI: 9%, 15%) with ICA/SPECT. Participants with CT-defined INOCA had greater total atheroma volume (118 vs 60 mm3, P = .008), more positive remodeling (13% vs 1%, P = .006), and greater low-attenuation atheroma volume (20 vs 10 mm3, P = .007) than participants with no obstructive stenosis and no ischemia. Comparisons for ICA/SPECT showed similar trends. Conclusion In CORE320, ischemia and no obstructive stenosis (INOCA) prevalence was 8% and 12% at CT angiography/CT perfusion and invasive coronary angiography/SPECT, respectively. Participants with INOCA had greater atherosclerotic burden and more adverse plaque features at CT compared with those with no obstructive stenosis and no ischemia. © RSNA, 2019 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Francois in this issue.