Simultaneous assessment of left ventricular wall motion and myocardial perfusion with technetium-99m-methoxy isobutyl isonitrile at stress and rest in patients with angina: comparison with thallium-201 SPECT

The newly developed technetium-99m (99mTc) isonitriles can be used for the simultaneous evaluation of ventricular function and myocardial perfusion. We compared technetium-99m hexakis-2-methoxy isobutyl isonitrile ( 99mTc] MIBI) derived first-pass left ventricular wall motion at stress and rest with simultaneous myocardial perfusion defined by 99mTc]MIBI SPECT. These results were then compared with 201TI SPECT. We examined 28 patients with coronary artery disease; 25 had a previous myocardial infarction. We found concordance between segmental wall motion and myocardial perfusion imaging in defining normal, ischemic, and infarcted myocardium in 68% and 69% of segments using 99mTc]MIBI and 201TI respectively. The best agreement between wall motion and myocardial perfusion was seen in the inferior wall, while most of the discrepancies were found at the apex. Agreement between 99mTc]MIBI and 201TI SPECT myocardial perfusion was seen in 93% of segments. Technetium-99m-MIBI appears to be an ideal radiopharmaceutical for the simultaneous evaluation of ventricular function and myocardial perfusion during stress and at rest.