Investigation of the sensibility and the specificity of a nuclear medicine method for determining regional motility disturbances of the left cardiac muscle

The reliability of information on the regional motility of the myocardium obtained through nuclear medicine methods (motility scintigram) can be assessed as very high according to the comparisons made. The specificity of a perfusion scan seems - according to our results-to be somewhat lower. The results of the comparisons made indicate a high sensibility of both motility scan and perfusion scan. Allowing for the fact that there is no fixed correlation between a regional perfusion disturbance and a regional motility disturbance of the myocardium with regard to appearance and local intensity it is possible to explain the larger number of different examination results that one obtains when comparing perfusion scans to motility scans or to ventriculograms. Both nuclear medicine methods become less reliable only when the intensity of pathological changes in the left ventricle is less apparent. In conclusion we state that nuclear medicine methods for investigation of regional perfusion and regional motility of myocardiums can justly claim to be a useful non-invasive way - a kind of screening test - for early and undangerous diagnosis of coronary heart diseases. (orig./MG)