Myocardial Perfusion Imaging for the Detection of Coronary Heart Disease

One of the primary goals of cardiological diagnostics is the very early detection of coronary artery disease before any major disabling event has occurred to damage the heart irreversibly. The paper outlines the concept and capabilities of regional myocardial perfusion imaging as a reliable noninvasive technique for determining the presence and location of regions with insufficient blood supply. The method employs a soluble radioactive cation, thallium-201, as the radiopharmaceutical. The regional distribution of thallium in the heart is actually reflecting the regional distribution of blood flow. The combination of this tracer with an imaging device permits external mapping of regional myocardial perfusion. The thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scan recorded following injection at stress is much brighter and better defined than that recorded with injection at rest. Future trends in noninvasive evaluation of regional myocardial perfusion are pointed out.