Skip Navigation

European Heart Journal 1997 18(Supplement D):111-116; doi:10.1093/eurheartj/18.suppl_D.111
Copyright © 1997 by the European Society of Cardiology.
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Krahwinkel, W.
Right arrow Articles by Gülker, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Krahwinkel, W.
Right arrow Articles by Gülker, H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1997 The European Society of Cardiology

Detection of myocardial viability using stress echocardiography

W. Krahwinkel, T. Ketteler, J. Wolfertz, J. Gödke, I. Krakau, L. J. Ulbricht, W. Mecklenbeck* and H. Gülker

* Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke Wuppertal, Germany
Wuppertal Heart Centre, Department of Cardiology, University of Witten/Herdecke Wuppertal, Germany

Correspondence: W. Krahwinkel MD, Wuppertal Heart Centre, Department of Cardiology, University of Witten/Herdecke, Heusnerstr. 40, 42283 Wuppertal, Germany

Asynergic myocardial regions in patients with coronary artery disease can be viable. They may have the ability to improve their function after restoring coronary blood flow. Asynergic but viable myocardial regions have a positive inotropic reserve which can be stimulated by catecholamines. Because echocardiography is an established method for evaluating regional left ventricular function, it has the potential to detect the inotropic response of asynergic myocardial regions. In the clinical setting, prediction of left ventricular functional improvement after revascularization is particularly important. Dobutamine stress echocardiography is the most frequently used stress echocardiographic test for detection of myocardial viability. Dobutamine is infused at low rates of 2.5 to 20 µg.kg–1.min–1 to detect myocardial viability. This paper reports on the sensitivity and specificity of the method for the detection of viability and its usefulness for prediction of left ventricular functional improvement after revascularization.

Key Words: Myocardial viability • dobutamine stress echocardiography • stunned myocardium • hibernating myocardium • left ventricular functional improvement following revascularization


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.