Coronary artery disease in women: a medical decision making system for improvement of non-invasive diagnostic accuracy

Establishing the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) in women for chronic chest pain is a difficult task without performing a coronary angiogram. The authors assess whether the diagnostic value of clinical history, electrocardiogram exercise testing, and stress perfusion scintigraphy can be enhanced in women by using multivariate analysis of noninvasive data. The consultative system developed based on a logistic regression analysis allows a 84% correct classification of women with critical CAD. This consultative system aids the cardiologist in interpreting clinical data and stress tests results of women referred to the cardiology department for evaluation of chronic chest pain