A Novel and Simply Calculated Cardiac Load Index Correlates With Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p><jats:bold>Background: </jats:bold>No cardiac load index (CLI) has been established for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We propose a simple method for calculating CLI and explore the association of CLI with CAD.<jats:bold>Methods:</jats:bold> We enrolled 4145 consecutive inpatients with suspected stable CAD from December 2011 to June 2017 at the Chengde Medical University Affiliated Hospital. All patients were divided into the CAD (n=2914) and the NCAD groups (n=1231) according to coronary computed tomography angiography. We retrospectively collected data and calculated the CLI values of all patients. The receiver operating characteristic diagnostic test analysis was performed with CLI≥77, CLI≥125, CLI≥171, CLI≥217, and CLI≥264, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression models were established to determine the risk factors of CAD.<jats:bold> </jats:bold><jats:bold>Results: </jats:bold>The CLI was significantly higher in the CAD group than in the NCAD group and higher in the male than in the female subgroup (both P&lt;0.001). CLI≥171 was the diagnostic cut-off value. The predictive power of CLI≥171 for CAD improved after considering other risk factors. CLI≥171 is a new independent risk factor for CAD, and is an independent risk factor for CAD in males and females (all P&lt;0.001).<jats:bold>Conclusions: </jats:bold>Increased CLI is an independent risk factor for CAD, it may be used as a predictor for the prevalence for CAD to improve diagnosis and prevention.</jats:p>