Low - dose dobutamine stress echocardiography for assessment of myocarodial viability in patients with old myocardial infarction

ABSTRACT

Sixty patients with old myocardial infarction were included in this study. Echocardiography was done to assess the segmental wall motion abnormalities at rest. Dobutamine stress echocardiography test was done for all patients at dose of 5 mug/kg/min. for 5 minutes and 10 mug/kg/min. for 5 minutes. Thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy was done for all patients. The same 20 segments division model used for dobutamine analysis was also applied to match echocardiographic finding. Thallium uptake in each myocardial segment was graded on a 5-point semiquantitative scale [from 0=absent to 2=normal]. A segment was considered viable if the assigned thallium score was 1 or higher [normal uptake or only mild moderate defect] in any of redistribution or reinjection images. From the results obtained, it was concluded that low-dose dobutamine echocardiography is a safe and useful tool in assessment of viable and non-viable myocardium