DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN DETERMINING LEFT ANTERIOR DESCENDING ARTERY OCCLUSION

Diagnostic Accuracy of Echocardiography

Abstract

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of echocardiography in left anterior descending artery occlusion proximal to first diagonal (D1) branch in acute anterior wall myocardial infarction (AWMI) by comparing it with angiography.
Study Design: Cross sectional validation study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of cardiology, Pakistan Institutes of Medical Sciences (PIMS),
Islamabad from May 2011 to Nov 2011.
Material and Methods: This was a cross sectional study which included 200 patients with left anterior descending myocardial infarction (LADMI). All the patients had 12-lead ECG followed by coronary angiography (gold standard) for the detection of LAD occlusion proximal to D1. Diagnostic accuracy of 12-lead ECG was detected by determining sensitivity, specificity and accuracy.
Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of 12-lead ECG for diagnosis of LAD occlusion proximal to D1 was 91%, 70.45%, 91.61%, 68.88% and 86.50%, respectively.
Conclusion: Twelve-lead ECG is a reliable test for detection of LAD occlusion proximal to D1 and should be done in every patient with AWMI.