Rest and exercise radionuclide angiography for diagnosis in chronic ischemic heart disease

Rest and exercise radionuclide angiography is frequently employed for the diagnosis of chest pain syndromes. Its value and limitations in this regard have been well studied, but proper utilization of the technique requires an understanding of five critical concepts: 1) Radionuclide angiography is superior to treadmill exercise testing and probably equivalent to thallium scintigraphy, although the published series did not use current methods. 2) The true specificity of radionuclide angiography is about 80%, intermediate between the early optimistic estimates and the later pessimistic ones. 3) The peak exercise ejection fraction is the preferred test parameter for diagnosis, although exercise hemodynamics, symptoms, and electrocardiographic changes should also be considered. 4) Although radionuclide angiography is clearly helpful for noninvasive diagnosis, significant numbers of patients will continue to fall in an uncertain category. 5) The proper application of the technique requires recognition of its limitations and careful attention to technical details. When properly applied, this modality can make an important contribution to clinical decision making.