Cardiovascular effects of nitroglycerin as evaluated by radioisotope methods

Abstract

Radioactive methods have successfully been used to elucidate the cardiovascular effects of nitroglycerin for decades. Xenon-clearance and the single probe technique were originally used to measure changes in myocardial flow caused by sublingual nitroglycerin. Later, similar studies were performed using the Anger camera permitting observations on regional myocardial flow. Microsphere techniques contributed to a better understanding of myocardial distribution of capillary flow. Modern methods in nuclear cardiology such as myocardial scintigraphy and gated blood pool scanning have shown their usefulness in demonstrating the cardiovascular effect of nitroglycerin on cardiac performance. The potential use of these non-invasive methods to study nitroglycerin effects is discussed.