Myocardial contractile reserve and resting perfusion scintigraphy provide independent information to assess myocardial viability. The purpose of this study was to simultaneously evaluate both with (99m)Tc-sestamibi SPECT and low-dose dobutamine in canine stunning and subendocardial infarction (SEMI).
Methods: Eighteen dogs were included in the study: 7 normal, 7 stunned, and 4 with SEMI. Closed-chest stunning and SEMI were produced by angioplasty balloon occlusion of the left anterior descending artery (20 and 90 min, respectively). Subsequent radiolabeled mircospheres confirmed reflow, and (99m)Tc-sestamibi was then administered at rest. Gated SPECT and MRI tagging were performed at rest and during low-dose dobutamine infusion (5 microg/kg/min). SPECT systolic wall thickening index (SWI) and MRI radial strain quantified myocardial contraction. Postmortem 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining quantified SEMI.
Results: Defect severity by SPECT in the anterior wall was mild and was not statistically different for the stunned versus SEMI groups (P = not significant). At rest, anterior wall SPECT SWI was significantly higher in the normal versus stunned groups (21.1 +/- 3.1 vs. 10.1 +/- 9.0; P = 0.0002) and the normal versus SEMI groups (21.1 +/- 3.1 vs. 2.6 +/- 6.0; P = 0.000002). With low-dose dobutamine, SWI increased significantly compared with rest for the stunned group (29.1 +/- 10.4 vs. 10.1 +/- 9.0; P = 0.000007) but did not increase significantly for the SEMI group (11.0 +/- 11.3 vs. 2.6 +/- 6.0; P = 0.09); SWI during low-dose dobutamine infusion for the stunned group was comparable to that for the normal group (29.1 +/- 10.4 vs. 28.2 +/- 7.0; P = 0.80). SWI also showed correlation with MRI radial strain (r = 0.42; P = 0.00015).
Conclusion: Defect severity for stunned myocardium and SEMI was mild and was not significantly different. Contractile reserve was significantly different in stunned myocardium and SEMI. (99m)Tc-Sestamibi SPECT at rest and with low-dose dobutamine is a promising new technique to simultaneously assess myocardial perfusion and contractile reserve.