Whereas the diagnostic evaluation of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) is part of the daily routine of cardiology practice, the conventional modalities for detection of CAD have major limitations. Even though its prognostic value has been validated extensively, exercise electrocardiography only has a limited diagnostic value for detection of significant CAD, with a reported sensitivity and specificity of 68 and 77%, respectively.
1 Additionally, in a large proportion of patients results are inconclusive. Although single photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (SPECT) is more sensitive for detection of significant CAD, it only has a moderate specificity.
2 Consequently, this leads to a considerable number of unnecessary referrals for invasive coronary angiography. Furthermore, a combined SPECT stress and rest protocol involves a significant radiation burden (10-20 mSv), and requires two separate scanning sessions. …