DETECTION OF SEVERE CORONARY HEART-DISEASE WITH TL-201 - COMPARISON OF RESTING SINGLE PHOTON-EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY WITH INVASIVE ARTERIOGRAPHY

  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 24  (9) , 761-767
Abstract
To investigate the application of 201Tl single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) at rest in the confirmation of coronary heart disease (CHD), 95 patients who had all undergone coronary angiography and cineventriculography were studied. Three groups were separated, patients with prior myocardial infarction (MI) (n = 45), no history of MI (n = 40), and no abnormality of coronary angiogram (n = 23). The results of planar imaging with computer-assisted evaluation (scintimetry, SCM) and of SPECT with a 3-plane reconstruction (transverse, sagittal, frontal) were compared with the invasive, arteriographic findings. SPECT yielded a higher sensitivity (93%) than SCM (68%) in the detection of defects in both infarcted and noninfarcted groups. The specifity was found to be almost equal in the 2 imaging modalities. A significant (P .ltoreq. 0.01) increase in accuracy was found in SPECT in the assessment of the posterior wall (54% compared with 88%) as well as in the general detection of defects (68% compared with 88%). Applying the SPECT imaging technique increases both the diagnostic accuracy of 201Tl myocardial imaging and the anatomical association of CHD.