Myocardial computed tomography perfusion

Abstract

Despite having excellent diagnostic accuracy to detect anatomical coronary stenosis, coronary CT angiography (CTA) has a limited specificity to detect myocardial ischemia. CT perfusion (CTP) can identify myocardial perfusion defects during vasodilator stress, and when added to coronary CTA, improves the specificity of detecting hemodynamically significant stenosis. A CTP protocol typically involves the acquisition of two separate data sets: (I) a rest scan that can be used as both a coronary CTA and for evaluating rest myocardial perfusion, and (II) a stress CTP scan acquired during vasodilator stress testing. This review summarizes some the techniques, strengths, and limitations of CTP, and provides an overview of the recent evidence supporting the potential use of CTP in clinical practice.