Dipyridamole-echocardiography test: historical background and physiologic basis
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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Murine Echocardiography and Ultrasound Imaging
Published on: August 8, 2010
1C.N.R. Clinical Physiology Institute, University of Pisa, Italy.
Abstract:
Dipyridamole was first introduced as an antianginal, coronary vasodilator agent. It was soon found that this drug could not prevent effort ischaemia; on the contrary, given intravenously, it could frequently induce ischaemia in the presence of coronary artery stenosis. This property was exploited for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. The dipyridamole-induced ischaemia was detected by different techniques: ST-segment depression, thallium 201 scintigraphy and echocardiography. This review article describes the mechanisms underlying dipyridamole-induced ischaemia and discusses the value of this pharmacologic stress test for the detection of coronary artery disease.
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