Coronary CT angiography-guided management of patients with stable chest pain: 10-year outcomes from the SCOT-HEART randomised controlled trial in Scotland

BACKGROUND: The Scottish Computed Tomography of the Heart (SCOT-HEART) trial demonstrated that management guided by coronary CT angiography (CCTA) improved the diagnosis, management, and outcome of patients with stable chest pain. We aimed to assess whether CCTA-guided care results in sustained long-term improvements in management and outcomes.

METHODS: SCOT-HEART was an open-label, multicentre, parallel group trial for which patients were recruited from 12 outpatient cardiology chest pain clinics across Scotland. Eligible patients were aged 18-75 years with symptoms of suspected stable angina due to coronary heart disease. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to standard of care plus CCTA or standard of care alone. In this prespecified 10-year analysis, prescribing data, coronary procedural interventions, and clinical outcomes were obtained through record linkage from national registries. The primary outcome was coronary heart disease death or non-fatal myocardial infarction on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01149590) and is complete.

FINDINGS: Between Nov 18, 2010, and Sept 24, 2014, 4146 patients were recruited (mean age 57 years [SD 10], 2325 [56·1%] male, 1821 [43·9%] female), with 2073 randomly assigned to standard care and CCTA and 2073 to standard care alone. After a median of 10·0 years (IQR 9·3-11·0), coronary heart disease death or non-fatal myocardial infarction was less frequent in the CCTA group compared with the standard care group (137 [6·6%] vs 171 [8·2%]; hazard ratio [HR] 0·79 [95% CI 0·63-0·99], p=0·044). Rates of all-cause, cardiovascular, and coronary heart disease death, and non-fatal stroke, were similar between the groups (p>0·05 for all), but non-fatal myocardial infarctions (90 [4·3%] vs 124 [6·0%]; HR 0·72 [0·55-0·94], p=0·017) and major adverse cardiovascular events (172 [8·3%] vs 214 [10·3%]; HR 0·80 [0·65-0·97], p=0·026) were less frequent in the CCTA group. Rates of coronary revascularisation procedures were similar (315 [15·2%] vs 318 [15·3%]; HR 1·00 [0·86-1·17], p=0·99) but preventive therapy prescribing remained more frequent in the CCTA group (831 [55·9%] of 1486 vs 728 [49·0%] of 1485 patients with available data; odds ratio 1·17 [95% CI 1·01-1·36], p=0·034).

INTERPRETATION: After 10 years, CCTA-guided management of patients with stable chest pain was associated with a sustained reduction in coronary heart disease death or non-fatal myocardial infarction. Identification of coronary atherosclerosis by CCTA improves long-term cardiovascular disease prevention in patients with stable chest pain.

FUNDING: The Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Edinburgh and Lothian's Health Foundation Trust, British Heart Foundation, and Heart Diseases Research Fund.