Evaluation of silent myocardial ischemia by exercise radionuclide ventriculography: comparison between patients with and without old myocardial infarction

We evaluated left ventricular systolic function during exercise in patients with silent or symptomatic myocardial ischemia by radionuclide ventriculography (RNV). The subjects consisted of 61 patients who had evidence of myocardial ischemia during exercise RNV defined as positive exercise electrocardiographic changes and angiographically documented coronary artery disease. The patients without angina during exercise (SMI) had less exercise-induced left ventricular systolic dysfunction than patients with angina (CP) (change in ejection fraction during exercise: delta EF; -1 +/- 13 vs -6 +/- 10%, p less than 0.05, systolic blood pressure/end-systolic volume in exercise divided by systolic blood pressure/end-systolic volume in rest: SP/ESV (ex/rest); 1.1 +/- 0.6 vs 0.8 +/- 0.3, p less than 0.05). The 61 patients were divided into two groups, that is, those with and without old myocardial infarction (OMI), and we compared the degree of left ventricular systolic dysfunction during exercise between SMI and CP by RNV in each group. In patients without OMI, SMI had less exercise-induced left ventricular dysfunction than CP (delta EF; 1 +/- 12 vs -10 +/- 8%, p less than 0.01, SP/ESV (ex/rest); 1.1 +/- 0.6 vs 0.7 +/- 0.2, p less than 0.01). However, there were no differences between SMI and CP with OMI. In conclusion, it was thought that SMI without OMI was less degree of myocardial ischemia, and that SMI with OMI was potentially caused by some factors except for the degree of myocardial ischemia.