[Normal values in equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography. Results of a multicenter study]

The Working Group on Cardiovascular Nuclear Medicine of the German Society of Nuclear Medicine has organised a multi-center study in which 13 institutes in the FRG participated. Data on equipment and methods employed in equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography and on results in 585 non-cardiac patients were obtained by means of a questionnaire. The global left-ventricular ejection fraction amounted, on average, to 64% but there were significant differences between participating institutes, probably due to differences in the selection of subjects and in the methods used. The majority of institutes reported an increase in EF by more than 10% after an ergometric workload of more than 100 W. End diastolic, end systolic and stroke volume agreed well throughout. However, whereas peak ejection and peak filling rates at rest showed good agreement between institutes, those after exercise differed widely, probably also because of differences in methods.