Experimental studies have suggested that dipyridamole may inhibit red blood cell labelling with technetium-99m. To evaluate whether this effect is clinically relevant to the performance of radionuclide ventriculography after dipyridamole-thallium stress testing, in vitro red blood cell labelling was compared immediately before and after thallium-201 stress scintigraphy combined with either dipyridamole infusion (30 patients) or exercise stress (20 patients). Modified in vivo red blood cell labelling efficiency was assessed in a further 36 patients following dipyridamole infusion and was compared with that in 15 patients following exercise stress. The importance of a reversal of the dipyridamole effects by aminophylline was evaluated for in vitro and modified in vivo techniques. The red blood cell labelling efficiency was not significantly different in patients following dipyridamole compared with that obtained following exercise stress for both in vitro (93% +/- 4% versus 91% +/- 4%) and modified in vivo (87% +/- 19% versus 90% +/- 6%) techniques. Also, in vitro red blood cell labelling efficiency after dipyridamole was not different to that before stress testing (93% +/- 4% versus 92% +/- 4%). Reversal with aminophylline had no significant effect on the in vitro labelling efficiency with either the in vitro technique (94% +/- 3% with reversal versus 92% +/- 5% without) or the modified in vivo technique (91% +/- 4% with reversal versus 82% +/- 26% without). These results suggest that the red blood cell labelling efficiency is not compromised by the preceding dipyridamole-thallium stress testing but can be optimised by using in vitro labelling.