Study population
The study population was derived from an existing database, which consisted of 402 patients with chest pain suggestive of stable angina pectoris and suspected of having CAD. All patients were prospectively included in a large study evaluating 64-slice CT coronary angiography (CTCA) at our institution. All patients were referred for conventional coronary angiography (CCA) based on their presentation or functional testing that suggested the presence of ischaemia and all patients underwent multidetector CT angiography within a week before CCA. Inclusion criteria for this study were: informed consent, sinus heart rhythm and the ability to hold their breath for 15 s. Patients with a history of percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass surgery, impaired renal function (serum creatinine >120 μmol/L) or a known intolerance to iodinated contrast medium were excluded. The Institutional Review Board approved the study and all patients signed informed consent. As this paper focuses on patients with new onset stable chest pain, we also excluded patients with acute coronary syndromes and patients with a previous myocardial infarction (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Flow chart of patients in the study. CTCA computed tomography coronary angiography. *Data from an existing database were used. All patients were referred for conventional coronary angiography based on their presentation or functional testing that suggested the presence of cardiac ischaemia. See Materials and methods