Cardiac nuclear medicine, present status, future hopes as seen from the view of a cardiologist

Abstract

The present techniques of nuclear medicine that are used in cardiology are critically evaluated. They are used mainly for the assessment of coronary circulation (measurement of regional flow and perfusion), on the determination of left ventricular muscle function (radionuclear ventriculography) and on the study of cardiac metabolism. The last-mentioned technique is unique insofar as (except for magnetic resonance imaging) there is no other method available to analyse myocardial metabolism noninvasively in living man. Of immense practical importance is the diagnosis and quantitation of the abnormal coronary flow and perfusion, as coronary artery disease is one of the major diseases of the Western world. Finally, the value of nuclear imaging techniques is compared with that of other nonnuclear methods. In present-day medicine, with its increasingly high costs, the value of nuclear techniques must be assessed very carefully.