Study of Myocardial Perfusion in Obese Individuals without Known Ischemic Heart Disease

Abstract Background: Obesity is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cardiovascular mortality. Several studies have demonstrated the diagnostic and prognostic value of single photon computed tomography-myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (SPECT-MPI) in the evaluation of patients with suspected IHD, including in obese population. Data on clinical risk factors and their association with abnormal myocardial perfusion in obese patients are scarce in the Brazilian population. Objective: To determine the factors associated with abnormal myocardial perfusion in obese individuals without known IHD. Methods: We studied obese patients without known IHD who were referred for evaluation through SPECT-MPI between January 2011 and December 2016. Clinical variables and results of SPECT-MPI were obtained systematically. The distribution of continuous variables was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk and Shapiro-Francia tests. We used the unpaired Student t test to compare the means of continuous variables with normal distribution and the Chi Square test for binomial variables analysis. A p value