Detection of Coronary Artery Disease With Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography and Stress Testing in Candidates for Liver Transplant

Abstract

Cardiac complications are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in recipients of liver transplant (LT). Previous guidelines recommended stress testing to exclude coronary artery disease (CAD), although recent guidelines recommend coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). We aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of CAD on CCTA and compare CCTA with stress testing in consecutive adult candidates for LT who underwent CAD noninvasive assessment between 2020 and 2023. Patients who underwent a stress test between January and December 2020 formed the stress cohort, and patients who underwent CCTA between January 2021 and September 2023 formed the CCTA cohort. There were 141 patients in the stress test cohort and 269 patients in the CCTA cohort. Stress test results were nondiagnostic or inconclusive in 18 patients (12.8%) whereas CCTA was nondiagnostic in 6 patients (2.2%). In patients evaluated with CCTA, mean coronary artery calcium (CAC) score was 332 ± 716 AU, with moderate or greater (>50%) stenosis in 33 patients (12.3%). New CAD was diagnosed in 158 patients (58.7%) using CCTA and in 5 patients (3.5%) using stress tests. Clinically actionable CAD (coronary artery calcium >100) on CCTA was present in 96 patients (35.7%). The number of CAD risk factors was associated with the presence of CAD on CCTA. In conclusion, there was a great burden of CAD, mainly nonobstructive, in a large cohort of candidates for LT who underwent CAD testing over a 4-year period. The current recommended risk-based evaluation of candidates for LT using CCTA as a first-line test was feasible and effective. Diagnosis of clinically actionable CAD on CCTA provides a vast opportunity for optimizing cardiac care in candidates for and recipients of LT.