201Tl SPECT Abnormalities, Documented at Rest in Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Are Related to a Lower Than Normal Myocardial Thickness but Not to an Excess in Myocardial Wall Stress

This study was aimed at determining whether the (201)Tl SPECT abnormalities documented in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy are related to a local excess in wall stress, which might act against the diastolic perfusion of myocardium. We included 6 healthy volunteers and 7 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy who underwent (201)Tl SPECT at rest. On a 13-segment division of the left ventricle, indices of wall stress and tension were calculated at end-diastole by applying Laplace's law, with thickness and curvature radii being determined for each segment on 2 orthogonal MRI slices. Among all patients, 21 analyzed segments had (201)Tl SPECT defects (D+) and 67 had none (D-). Myocardial thickness was lower in D+ (0.88 +/- 0.30 cm) than in D- (1.23 +/- 0.33 cm, P = 0.0002) or in segments from healthy volunteers (0.99 +/- 0.15 cm, P = 0.04). The index of end-diastolic wall tension was also lower in D+ (2.5 +/- 1.0 N.m(-1).mm Hg(-1)) than in D- (3.3 +/- 1.1 N.m(-1).mm Hg(-1), P = 0.02) or in segments from healthy volunteers (3.2 +/- 1.2 .m(-1).mm Hg(-1)) P = 0.04). Last, the index of end-diastolic wall stress, determined by the ratio of wall tension index to myocardial thickness, was equivalent in D+, in D-, and in segments from healthy volunteers (respectively, 3.0 +/- 1.4, 2.8 +/- 1.2, and 3.2 +/- 1.6 hN.m(-2).mm Hg(-1)). In patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, the abnormalities documented by (201)Tl SPECT at rest are related to a lower than normal wall thickness and not to an excess in wall stress or tension. Therefore, partial-volume effects are likely to induce these abnormalities, and they may be unrelated to any insufficiency of myocardial perfusion.