Abstract
Objectives History, EKG, age, risk factors, and troponin (HEART) and thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) risk calculators have been validated to predict the risk of subsequent acute coronary syndromes and in some studies, severe coronary atherosclerosis in patients with a concerning clinical history. Their performance in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a population with a high pretest probability for the condition, is unknown. We aimed to determine whether HEART and TIMI scores can predict severe coronary atherosclerosis in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Methods A single-center retrospective cohort of admitted patients aged 18 years or older with ESRD on dialysis who underwent coronary angiography during admission (November 2010 to December 2017) was retrospectively reviewed. The outcome of coronary angiography was compared with the calculated HEART and TIMI scores at the time of presentation. Receiver operating characteristics and logistic regression models were used to determine optimal score cutoffs, score usefulness, and associations between outcomes, scores, and patient characteristics. Results Among 231 patient encounters, the mean HEART and TIMI scores were 6±2 and 3±1 points, respectively. Patients with diabetes mellitus, those 65 years old and older, and those reported to have angina pectoris were more likely to show severe coronary artery disease (CAD) lesions. Optimal score cutoffs for determining severe coronary lesions were between six and seven (area under the curve (AUC)=0.754, confidence interval (CI): 0.682-0.826) and between three and four (AUC=0.716, CI: 0.640-0.792) for the HEART and TIMI scores, respectively. Conclusion Similar to the general population, HEART and TIMI scores can predict severe coronary atherosclerosis in the complex ESRD population.