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Serial Thallium‐201 Myocardial Perfusion Scanning in Acute Myocardial Infarction *
Author(s) -
Dunnt R. F.,
Kelly D. T.,
Freedman S. B.,
Uren R. F.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0004-8291
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1980.tb04244.x
Subject(s) - medicine , thallium , perfusion , asymptomatic , myocardial infarction , cardiology , infarction , angina , nuclear medicine , radiology , chemistry , inorganic chemistry
Summary Serial myocardial perfusion scanning was performed in 30 patients with acute myocardial infarction. Scanning was commenced less than six hours after onset of symptoms in 12 patients, 6–24 hr in eight and 24–120 hr in ten. All 30 patients showed thallium defects corresponding to the ECG site of infarction. When initial and four‐hour scans were compared, constant defects were present in ten patients and changing defects in 20. Of the 169 segments with defects on the initial scan, 117 (69%) remained constant, 41 (24%) improved, and 11 (7%) deteriorated. More defects changed in the patients scanned earlier (< 6hr) than in the patients scanned later (> 6hr) (42% vs 23% P < 0·025), and more defects changed in patients with subendocardial compared to transmural infarction (49% vs 26% P < 0·025). During a mean follow‐up period of 18 months, seven patients died, two developed left ventricular failure, seven had angina and 14 remained asymptomatic. The non‐survivors had significantly larger thallium defects than the survivors (55 ± 15% vs 37 ± 14%, P < 0·005). Serial change on thallium scanning was not related to the clinical course. Perfusion defects on serial thallium scanning are useful in detecting and localising early myocardial infarction and the size of defects is related to the subsequent clinical course. Changing perfusion defects on serial scanning suggesting peri‐infarctional ischaemia are common, and make assessment of therapeutic interventions to limit infarct size difficult, but are not related to the clinical course.