David A. Dowe
Massimo Fioranelli
Paolo Pavone
Editors
2013
Second edition
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death in developed countries, yet for many years the prediction of clinical events has been reliant upon methods with substantial drawbacks. Non-invasive, indirect examinations such as Framingham risk factors, thorough clinical examination, EKG and the treadmill test yield valid information but certainly do not provide a safe and complete assessment of the presence of CAD. Even nuclear medicine techniques provide only indirect information on the presence of disease and are not always specific.