Technetium-99m stannous pyrophosphate myocardial scintigraphy after cardiopulmonary resuscitation with cardioversion

Thirty consecutive patients underwent technetium-99m stannous pyrophosphate myocardial scintigraphy 48--72 hours after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation and direct current cardioversion. Five patients with transmural myocardial infarctions by ECG and enzyme determinations were correctly identified by scintigraphy. Myocardial scans were positive in five of nine patients with nontransmural infarction. Of 16 patients without evidence of myocardial infarction, only two (13%) had false-positive myocardial scans. The overall accuracy of imaging in this series was 80%. We conclude that false-positive scans after cardiopulmonary resuscitation with electrical cardioversion are infrequent, and do not significantly detract from the value of myocardial scintigraphy in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction.