Evaluation of cardiac function and structure with radioactive tracer techniques.

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Abstract
Measurements of the myocardium and cardiac function when coupled with clinical evaluation, routine chemistry tests and ECG can frequently make diagnosis, confirm the site and extent of abnormality and define if improvement has occurred following a therapeutic intervention. Radionuclide studies offer a particularly useful tool in cardiology because they measure physiological parameters and through these measurements, give information about anatomy. Specific metabolic substrates which are metabolized only in ischemic tissue may be developed, and it is possible that radiopharmaceuticals will be developed which will localize in atherosclerotic plaque and permit the identification of patients at risk of coronary disease long before they become symptomatic.