Muscle blood-flow studies by the technetium (99mTc) clearance technique in normal subjects and in patients with intermittent claudication

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Abstract
Muscle blood-flow was estimated in 37 subjects (42 legs) with clinically patent arteries and in 50 patients (82 legs) with a peripheral vascular block by studying the clearance of technetium (99mTc) as sodium pertechnetate injected into the lateral head of the gastrocnemius. The data were computed to determine the clearance of the isotope, expressed as a half-life (T½), during exercise and in the post-exercise period.The results showed that 99mTc is a convenient and reliable tracer for the investigation of muscle blood-flow.It was found that all legs prodcing symptoms were abnormal according to one or both of the following criteria:— The exercise T½ was more than 3 minutesThe post-exercise T½ was less than the exercise T½.Possible reasons to account for the slower clearance of technetium from the ischaemic limb during exercise as compared with normal muscle are discussed.The test may have useful application in the selection of patients for reconstructive arterial surgery and in the assessment of operative results.