Relationship of infarct size and severity versus left ventricular ejection fraction and volumes obtained from 99mTc-sestamibi gated single-photon emission computed tomography in patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention

The current technique of choice for perfusion imaging is gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), which allows the simultaneous assessment of perfusion and left ventricular (LV) function. We examined the relationships of infarct size and severity with LV ejection fraction (EF) and volumes in 215 myocardial infarction patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention within 6 h of symptom onset. Patients were studied with resting gated SPECT 1 month later. Infarct size was expressed as LV percent, and infarct severity as the lowest activity ratio within the defect. LVEF, end-diastolic (ED) and end-systolic (ES) volume indexes (Vi) were calculated with commercial software. There was a significant correlation between infarct size and LVEF (r=–0.68, P<0.00001), EDVi (r=0.53, P<0.00001), and ESVi (r=0.62, P<0.00001). Slightly lower correlations were demonstrated using infarct severity. LVEF and volumes were related to infarct location. A significantly higher correlation was observed between infarct size and LVEF in anterior than in non-anterior infarctions (r=–0.75 vs –0.60, P<0.05). In multivariate analysis, infarct size and infarct location were significant predictors of LVEF (R²=0.50) and ESV (R²=0.40). Infarct size and infarct severity were significant predictors of EDVi (R²=0.29). Infarct size (and severity) and LVEF (and volumes) derived from a single gated SPECT study correlate closely. Infarct location influences this relationship, with anterior infarctions showing a lower LVEF than inferior or lateral ones of the same extent.