Detection and assessment of unstable angina using myocardial perfusion imaging: Comparison between technetium-99m sestamibi SPECT and 12-lead electrocardiogram

Journal Article · Tue Oct 16 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · American Journal of Cardiology; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9149(90)90611-4· OSTI ID:6071428

Gregoire, J; Theroux, P ^[1]

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1. Montreal Heart Institute, Quebec (Canada)

Forty-five studies using technetium-99m (Tc-99m) sestamibi single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) were performed on patients hospitalized for spontaneous chest pain suggestive of myocardial ischemia. The studies were done after an injection during an episode of chest pain and a repeated injection when the patients were free of pain. All patients were hospitalized with a presumed diagnosis of unstable angina, and none had evidence of a previous myocardial infarction. The presence of a perfusion defect observed with Tc-99m sestamibi injected during chest pain had a 96% sensitivity and a 79% specificity for the detection of significant coronary artery disease (stenosis greater than or equal to 50%) on subsequent angiography. When the criterion of a larger perfusion defect during pain compared to absence of pain was used, the sensitivity was 81% and the specificity was 84%. In contrast, transient electrocardiographic ischemic changes during pain had a sensitivity of 35% and a specificity of 68%; electrocardiographic changes during or outside episodes of chest pain had a sensitivity of 65% and a specificity of 63% for the diagnosis. Tc-99m sestamibi SPECT represents a reliable noninvasive diagnostic tool that could aid in the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia in patients with spontaneous chest pain and provide additional information to that provided by the electrocardiogram.

• OSTI ID: 6071428
• Journal Information: American Journal of Cardiology; (USA), Journal Name: American Journal of Cardiology; (USA) Vol. 66:13; ISSN 0002-9149; ISSN AJCDA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550601* -- Medicine-- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
DIAGNOSIS
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DIAGRAMS
DISEASES
ELECTROCARDIOGRAMS
EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISCHEMIA
ISOMERIC NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
PATIENTS
PERFUSED ORGANS
RADIOISOTOPES
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
SPECIFICITY
TECHNETIUM 99
TECHNETIUM ISOTOPES
TOMOGRAPHY
VASCULAR DISEASES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES