Copyright © 1997 by the European Society of Cardiology.
© 1997 The European society of Cardiology
Dipyridamole thallium-201 imaging very early after uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction in patients treated with thrombolytic therapy
I Division of Cardiology A, De Gasperis Niguarda Hospital Milan, Italy Department of Nuclear Medicine, Niguarda Hospital Milan, Italy
Received 1 August 1996; accepted 9 August 1996.
Correspondence: Salvatore Pirelli, MD. via Ippocastani 17, 20090 Cusano Milanino (MI) Italy
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the safety and prognostic value of dipyridamole201Tl imaging very early after acute myocardial infarction in patients treated with thrombolytic therapy. Fifty-two consecutive patients with an uncomplicated clinical course underwent quantitative planar dipyridamole201Tl imaging 25 days after acute myocardial infarction. The patients were followed for 14±7 months after discharge. No major complications occurred during the test. Of the 30 patients with redistribution, five (16·6%) developed in-hospital unstable angina as against none of the 22 patients without redistribution. During follow-up, a total of five late cardiac events were observed: two deaths and two cases of unstable angina in the group with reversible defects and one reinfarction in the group with fixed defects. The 1-year actuarial probability of being free of cardiac events was, respectively, 66±10% and 94±5% in the patients with and without redistribution (P<0·01).
In conclusion, in patients treated with thrombolysis, dipyridamole201Tl imaging very early after uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction is a feasible and safe test. Patients with fixed defects appear to be at low risk and may be candidates for early discharge; the presence of redistribution identifies a subgroup of patients who may benefit from further careful clinical evaluation.
Key Words: Dipyridamole 201Tl scintigraphy acute myocardial infarction thrombolysis