Evaluation of forward stroke volume in first-pass radionuclide cardiography

First-pass radionuclide cardiography and Zierler's area-over-height formula have been applied for determination of stroke volume. The method has three new features: (a) the region of interest comprises the entire cardiopulmonary circulation; (b) a prediction of (normal) blood volume based on deviation from desired weight; and (c) a correction of stroke volume in case of incomplete bolus injection. The method was verified in a pathological situation by an independent geometric method in equilibrium gated radionuclide cardiography. The variation of stroke volume was investigated in a normal group of 61 women, 40-80 years old. The result was in excellent agreement with values for normal variation of stroke volume in the literature.