SPECT and Imaging Agent Identify Heart Disease

The study was presented at the 50th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.

The stress-imaging agent used in the study was technetium Tc99m sestamibi, called Cardiolite. The study analyzed 9,975 patients with no previous history of heart disease who underwent catheterization from 1992-1998. Patients who underwent myocardial perfusion SPECT with Cardiolite within 60 days prior to catheterization had a significantly lower rate of normal diagnostic catheterization (11.4%) compared to those who did not undergo the test (17.6%). This difference suggests that many patients who did not have the Cardiolite test did not need catheterization. Cardiolite is the product of DuPont Pharmaceuticals (Wilmington, DE, USA).

"By utilizing nuclear cardiology testing in advance of more aggressive diagnostic tests, we can both avoid exposing patients to unnecessary surgical risks and medical expenses,” noted Howard Lewin, M.D., principal investigator of the study and assistant professor of medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles. "This study shows that Cardiolite may spare some patients from these risks and the discomfort of cardiac catheterization by identifying situations when it is not needed.”





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