Population Trends From 2000-2011 in Nuclear Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Use

Nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) accounted for much of the rapid growth in cardiac imaging that occurred from the 1990s through the middle 2000s.1,2 Factors potentially discouraging use (including publication of appropriate use criteria) have since emerged,3 and recent data reveal modest declines in MPI use in the Medicare fee-for-service population.4 We investigated temporal trends in MPI use within a large, community-based population that included persons younger than 65 years and explored whether increasing use of other noninvasive imaging modalities potentially offset declining MPI use.