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Current Indications

Peter McLaughlin, MD, FRCP

JAMA. 1976;236(21):2439-2441.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

OVER the past decade, advances in nuclear cardiology have provided a range of diagnostic tools for the practicing clinician. The development of new radionuclides, high-resolution scintillation cameras, and sophisticated small computers have been responsible for improvement in the quality and scope of nuclear cardiologic techniques. The following is a brief review of these techniques, their applications and limitations.

Perfusion Imaging

Normal Myocardium.—

Perfusion imaging of normal myocardium is performed by administration of a radioactive tracer that is extracted by normally functioning myocardial cells. Agents such as thallium 201 exhibit the biological behavior of potassium and presumably are pumped into the cell by activating membranebound (Na⁺, K⁺)-adenosine triphosphatase. Their myocardial uptake is dependent on two factors: (1) regional myocardial blood flow and (2) cell function. The normal myocardial image appears homogeneous in count distribution. Areas of decreased uptake in the resting study reflect areas of myocardial fibrosis or infarction . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Cardiology Division, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif.

Footnotes
This article is one of a series sponsored by the American Heart Association, edited by Richard L. Popp, MD.

Reprint requests to Cardiovascular Unit, Toronto General Hospital, 101 College St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Dr McLaughlin).

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