Myocardial Pattern of Thallium-201 Distribution in Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy

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Abstract
To determine the scintigraphic pattern of the left ventricular myocardium in patients with dilative cardiomyopathy, 50 201TI single-photon emission computed tomography scans were examined. 17 patients had a dilative cardiomyopathy, 20 patients had coronary heart disease, and 13 patients had no organic heart disease. The inhomogeneity of the radioactivity distribution in the left ventricular wall had a high specificity (93%) and a reasonable sensitivity (71%) for dilative cardiomyopathy. Additionally, transmural perfusion defects were documented in one third of the patients with dilative cardiomyopathy. Thus, inhomogeneity detected with 201TI singlephoton emission computed tomography is a highly specific diagnostic marker for dilative cardiomyopathy. However, the differentiation from patients with coronary artery disease and enlarged left ventricle is limited due to the occurrence of transmural perfusion defects in patients with dilative cardiomyopathy.

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