The Prognostic Value of Coronary CT Angiography

Abstract

Coronary CT angiography has gained increasingly widespread acceptance as a highly accurate method for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Beyond its usefulness as a diagnostic test to identify coronary artery stenoses in appropriately selected patients, multiple studies have consistently demonstrated that the extent and severity of coronary atherosclerosis visualized using coronary CT angiography conveys robust prognostic information. The majority of studies to date examining clinical outcomes following coronary CT angiography have documented coronary artery disease either as the presence of any coronary plaque or through the number of vessels with ≥50% (obstructive) stenosis. In the future, advanced, semi-quantitative measures of coronary atherosclerotic disease burden, plaque morphology, and composition may provide additional prognostic information. It is imperative that patients undergoing coronary CT angiography and their providers understand the prognostic information inherent to modern coronary CT angiography so that the maximal yield may be realized. Herein, we review the currently available prognostic studies of coronary CT angiography.