Significance of calcific valvular heart disease in /sup 99m/Tc pyrophosphate myocardial infarction scanning: radiographic, scintigraphic, and pathological correlation

Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1977 · J. Nucl. Med.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7316502

Jengo, J A; Mena, I; Joe, S H; Criley, J M

Technetium-99m pyrophosphate (PP/sub i/) is currently considered the best scanning agent for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. False-positive scans have been reported in association with unstable angina, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, and ventricular aneurysms. In this study, 86 percent of patients (12/14) with either calcific aortic or mitral valvular heart disease had positive PP/sub i/ cardiac scintiscans and the location of the PP/sub i/ uptake was limited to the calcific valve in all (9/9) of the patients who underwent valve replacement surgery. Six patients with valvular disease without radiologic evidence of calcium had negative PP/sub i/ heart images. Three of these patients had surgical valve replacement, and in none was there increased uptake in the resected valve. Seventy-five percent of the patients with calcified aortic valves had localization of the PP/sub i/ activity to the area of the aortic valve, whereas 50 percent of the patients with calcified mitral valves showed a diffuse pattern of uptake on the cardiac image. In vitro demonstration of increased radioactivity in surgically removed cardiac valves warrants the conclusion that Tc-99m PP/sub i/ is taken up by calcified heart valves. We conclude that while PP/sub i/ heart scanning is a sensitive indicator of acute myocardial infarction, false-positive scans can occur in the presence of calcific valvular disease, due to localization of PP/sub i/ in the calcified portion of the valve.

• Research Organization: Harbor General Hospital, Torrance, CA
• OSTI ID: 7316502
• Journal Information: J. Nucl. Med.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Nucl. Med.; (United States) Vol. 18:8; ISSN JNMEA
• 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
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DIAGNOSIS
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISEASES
HEART
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PATHOLOGY
PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
PYROPHOSPHATES
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
RADIOISOTOPES
SCINTISCANNING
TECHNETIUM 99
TECHNETIUM ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES