Resting and Exercise Radionuclide Ventriculography in Healthy Men

Radionaclide ventriculography (RVg) permits the assessment of Ieft ventricular function during rest and exercise. Although it was initially reported to be a highly specific test for coronary artery disease (CAD), later studies reported a high false positive rate. We studied the exercise responses in ejection fraction (EF) and wall motion in 26 normal male subjects (ages 22-64 years) and the specificity of the method for the diagnosis of CAD. None developed wall motion abnormality and EF increased in all 26 (from 63.0±5.6 to 72.9±6.0. Considering an absoIute 5 % increase as normal, the specificity was found 88.5 %. It is concluded that despite inherent technical difficulties, exercise RVg is a highly specific method for CAD in men and an absolute increase of 5 % in EF may be accepted as normal. However it is essential to determine how much these technical difficulties affect the sensitivity of the method.