Myocardial perfusion defect on thallium-201 imaging in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Six patients with angina pectoris had reversible perfusion defects on stress and redistribution thallium imaging. Three patients had a positive electrocardiographic response to exercise. No significant coronary artery lesions were seen on coronary arteriography in any of the six patients. All had mild to moderate hypoxemia at rest and physiologic evidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as defined by the decrease in the ratio of forced expiratory volume at 1 second to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC X 100) or decrease in the forced midexpiratory flow rate (FEF25-75), or both. None had clinical findings suggestive of any of the reported causes of positive thallium scans in patients with normal coronary arteriograms. Cellular dysfunction produced by hypoxemia affecting the uptake of thallium seems to be the most likely mechanism of this abnormality.