An acoustic based risk score in addition to pre-test probability estimation for coronary artery disease improves risk classification in patients with suspected coronary artery disease
Authors: Bjerking L , Schmidt S , Wadt Hansen K , Winther S , Boettcher M , Galatius S , Prescott E 
Published: October 2022

Background

The 2021 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) Guideline for Evaluation and Diagnosis of Chest Pain introduced a new pre-test probability (PTP)-table for risk stratification of patients with symptoms suggestive of coronary artery disease (CAD). The CAD-score, an acoustic-based risk score for obstructive CAD, has previously shown good rule out capability in patients with suggested CAD when added to PTP.

Purpose

To investigate the potential of the acoustic CAD-score to 1) reclassify patients from intermediate-high to low PTP, and 2) improve risk-stratification in patients with low PTP, when added to the 2021 AHA/ACC PTP.

Methods

This is a retrospective study of patients with successfully obtained CAD-score from The Danish study of Non-Invasive testing in Coronary artery Disease 1 (Dan-NICAD 1) of patients without known CAD referred for coronary computed tomography angiography with angina pectoris. Patients with suspected obstructive CAD underwent invasive angiography. CAD-score was obtained with a non-invasive acoustic device analysing heart sounds based on CAD-related turbulence. CAD-score≤20 indicated low probability of CAD. PTP was calculated from sex, age, and angina symptoms according to current AHA/ACC Guidelines. Low likelihood of CAD was defined as PTP≤15%, and intermediate-high likelihood as PTP&gt;15%. Hemodynamic obstructive CAD was defined as visual luminal diameter stenosis &gt;90% on angiography or FFR&lt;0.80%.

Results

Among the 1475 included patients (52.3% women, median age 57 years IQR [50–64[), 36.4% were categorized as low likelihood of CAD (PTP≤15%), and 9.8% of patients had obstructive CAD. Compared to patients with PTP≤15%, patients with PTP&gt;15%, were older, more often hypertensive (49.8% vs. 35.5%), had a higher median CAD-score (28 [22–38] vs. 16 [12–22]), and had more obstructive CAD (12.4% vs. 5.2%). CAD-score reclassified 17.6% of patients with intermediate-high likelihood to a low likelihood of CAD and decreased the post-test probability of obstructive CAD from 5.2% to 4.7%. Subgroup analyses showed reclassification was greater in men, patients with PTP ≤25%, age &lt;70 years or no hypertension. In the 432 patients with PTP&gt;15%, age&lt;70 and no hypertension, 35.4% were reclassified to low likelihood, whereas only 2.4% of patients with PTP&gt;15%, age≥70 years or hypertension were ruled out by CAD-score ≤20. In patients with low PTP≤15%, CAD-score≤20 risk-stratified 361 (67.2%) patients to very low and 176 (32.8%) to an intermediate-low likelihood of CAD, but the post-test probabilities of CAD in both subgroups were still below the cut-off of 15 (3.6% vs. 8.5%).

Conclusion

Adding an acoustic-based CAD-score to the AHA/ACC PTP could potentially reduce the need for further diagnostic testing by 17.6% in patients with intermediate-high likelihood of CAD and in subgroups a reduction of 35% can be achieved. Use of CAD-score in low-likelihood patients only moderately improves risk classification.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.