Abstract |
Dipyridamole thallium imaging is one of the most widely
accepted means of evaluating patients with suspected or
known coronay artery disease. The results of thallium
imaging help diagnose coronary artery disesse (CAD),
determine the hemodynamic significance of coronary
stenosis, evaluate viability of myocardium, assess the
outcome of therapeutic interventions and stratify
patients according t.o their risk for futher cardiac
events. An increased lung thallium uptake and transient
LV dilation has been reported as poor prognostic
indicator and associated with extensive and severe
coronary artery disease. We quantitated lung/heart
uptake ratio (L/HUR) and transient left ventricular
dilation ratio in 44 patients and 17 controls
undertaking dipyridamole thalliurn-201 scintigraphy.
The results are as follows: 1) The lung/heart uptake
ratio was high in patients with CAD and which became
higher according to increasing number of diseased
vessel, The L/HUR of patients with low LVEP (<35%) was
lower than those with normal LVEF. 2) Transient left
ventricular dilation ratio of CAD patients had no close
relation between numbers of diseased vessels and was
not highqr than normals. But transient left ventricular
dilation ratio of patients with myocardial infartion
was higher than normals. We concluded that lung/heart
uptake ratio seems to be sensitive marker for severity
of CAD and myocardial function, but transient left
ventricular dilation ratio alone is not sufficient to
be a marker for severe and extensive CAD. |