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), Vol. 18:8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
DIAGNOSIS
HEART
SCINTISCANNING
TECHNETIUM 99
ISOMERIC NUCLEI
MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION
PATHOLOGY
PYROPHOSPHATES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISEASES
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
RADIOISOTOPES
TECHNETIUM ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
550601* - Medicine- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics