Published in:
Open Access
01-04-2011 | Editorial Comment
Assessment of left ventricular volumes; reliable by gated SPECT?
Authors:
E. E. van derWall, A. J. H. A. Scholte, H. M. Siebelink, J. J. Bax
Published in:
The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
|
Issue 4/2011
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Excerpt
Assessment of cardiac function continues to be an important issue in patients with assumed left ventricular dysfunction [
1‐
10]. In particular in patients with enlarged left ventricles, such as occurs in ischemic and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, accurate assessment of left ventricular function remains pivotal [
11‐
14]. To assess myocardial function, different diagnostic methods are currently performed, such as MRI, SPECT, and echocardiography [
15‐
23]. In the clinical arena, detection of myocardial function is predominantly based on echocardiographic studies. However, nuclear techniques, showing preserved tracer uptake and metabolism in viable myocardium, may also assess left ventricular function and wall motion. Analysis by gated SPECT imaging offers considerable additional value to SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging in characterizing functional abnormalities thereby potentially improving test specificity [
24‐
30]. Preserved wall motion and/or thickening in region with perfusion defects might denote remaining viability indicating potentially well functioning myocardium [
31‐
36]. By assessing left ventricular volumes the application of gated SPECT influences the appropriate management strategy. Since myocardial perfusion, function and wall motion/thickening can be assessed simultaneously, gated SPECT imaging follows the concept of a one-stop shop such as propagated by MRI studies [
37‐
41]. However, MRI may be more accurate than gated SPECT in establishing left ventricular parameters because of its superb spatial resolution [
20,
42‐
49]. …