First-pass anger camera radiocardiography: biventricular ejection fraction, flow, and volume measurements

First-pass (FP) right and left ventricular ejection fraction results were compared with equilibrium radiocardiographic (ER) measurements, and FP left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) values were compared with biplane contrast angiographic (CA) measurements in 13 patients with and seven patients without regurgitant valvular disease. Regurgitant fractions were calculated from differences between the FP right and left ventricular stroke volumes. Ejection fractions determined by FP were precise (mean CV = 9.6% RVEF, 13.4% LVEF). Mean LVEF by FP and ER were essentially identical, and both were lower than by CA. LVEF(FP) correlated with LVEF by ER and CA (r = 0.88, p less than 0.001). Mean RVEF by both FP and ER were also correlated (r = 0.82, p less than 0.001). There was correlation between FP (corrected) and CA left ventricular stroke (r = 0.77), end-diastolic (r = 0.88), and end-systolic (r = 0.91) volumes, but underestimates were noted when uncorrected flows were used (r = 0.52-0.71). The FP regurgitant fraction measurements separated the patients with regurgitant valvular disease from those without and agreed well with CA grading of regurgitation.