Relation between the kinetics of thallium-201 in myocardial scintigraphy and myocardial metabolism in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Objective To investigate the relations between myocardial metabolism and the kinetics of thallium-201 in myocardial scintigraphy. Methods 46 patients within six weeks after the onset of acute myocardial infarction underwent resting myocardial dual isotope, single acquisition, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using radioiodinated 15-iodophenyl 3-methyl pentadecaenoic acid (BMIPP) and thallium-201, exercise thallium-201 SPECT, and positron emission tomography (PET) using nitrogen-13 ammonia (NH3) and [F18]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) under fasting conditions. The left ventricle was divided into nine segments, and the severity of defects was assessed visually. Results In the resting SPECT, less BMIPP uptake than thallium-201 uptake was observed in all of 40 segments with reverse redistribution of thallium-201, and in 21 of 88 segments with a fixed defect of thallium-201 (p < 0.0001); and more FDG uptake than NH3 uptake (NH3–FDG mismatch) was observed in 35 of 40 segments with reverse redistribution and in 38 of 88 segments with fixed defect (p < 0.0001). Less BMIPP uptake in the resting SPECT was observed in 49 of 54 segments with slow stress redistribution in exercise SPECT, and in nine of 17 segments with rapid stress redistribution (p < 0.0005); NH3–FDG mismatch was observed in 42 of 54 segments with slow stress redistribution and in five of 17 segments with rapid stress redistribution (p < 0.0005). Conclusions Thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy provides information about not only myocardial perfusion and viability but also about myocardial metabolism in patients with acute myocardial infarction.