Authors: James E Udelson
Publish Date: 2011/12/23
Volume: 19, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-2
Abstract
The ability to image myocardial perfusion at rest and following stress using noninvasive imaging techniques began in the early 1970s Initially performed using radioactive potassium as a tracer and planar imaging1 substantial advances in perfusion tracers and imaging techniques have culminated in today’s noninvasive approaches A literal explosion of information followed the introduction of thallium201 as a perfusion tracer later in the 1970s Examinations of its property of redistribution led to adoption of protocols that discriminated stressinduced ischemia from infarct following a single injection and following a second injection2 In the early to mid1990s the approval of the Tc99mbased agents sestamibi3 and later tetrofosmin4 allowed improved image quality in more challenging patients and enabled the widespread use of gated techniques to capture functional information simultaneously with perfusion The early approval of rubidium82 for imaging myocardial infarction5and
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