Relationship of decreased accumulation of (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin on myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography images between QRS duration in dilated cardiomyopathy patient with left bundle branch block

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between severity of conduction delay in the left ventricle and myocardial uptake of (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin (TF) in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB).

Methods and results: Thirty-two DCM patients with LBBB underwent electrocardiography and (99m)Tc-TF myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). SPECT images were acquired at 30 min (early images) and 3 h (late images) after injection. We calculated the total defect score (TDS) using a 20-segment model with a 5-point scoring system. The TDS in early and late images was defined as the summed early score (SES) and summed late score (SLS), respectively. On early images, 29 of 32 patients (91%) had decreased tracer uptake in the septum. All patients showed a decreased tracer uptake in the septum on late images. A significant correlation was observed between TDS (both SES and SLS) and QRS duration, with SLS showing an excellent correlation (SES: r = 0.554, P < 0.001; SLS: r = 0.779, P < 0.0001).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that in DCM patients with LBBB, hypoperfusion and myocardial damage in the septum might occur in accordance with an increase in the QRS duration.