Mask-Related Motion Artifact on 99mTc-MIBI SPECT: Unexpected Pitfalls of SARS-CoV-2 Countermeasures

A 61-year-old man was referred for myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) by an occupational physician to exclude coronary artery disease (CAD). The patient had a complete left bundle branch block (LBBB) that rendered the routine exercise stress test non-diagnostic, but otherwise had no history of heart diseases, good stress tolerance with no symptoms of angina, and no abnormalities in transthoracic echocardiogram, apart from contraction patterns typical for LBBB. Initial MPS, performed using technetium-labeled Sestamibi on a Discovery NM 530c camera equipped with solid-state semiconductor detectors, revealed a significant stress-induced ischemia that did not match the good overall condition of the patient. A motion detection procedure revealed significant heart motion in Z-axis during the stress study. Upon inquiry, the patient reported breathing difficulties caused by the mandatory mask, which slipped into an uncomfortable position during the study. Repeated acquisition, without motion artifacts, revealed no features of ischemia.