Use of first-pass radionuclide angiography for evaluating left-sided heart regurgitation

The first-pass radionuclide technique can be used to evaluate valvular regurgitation. Sixty-three patients were studied with cardiac catheterization and first-pass radionuclide angiography. The degree of regurgitation by cardiac catheterization was evaluated by using a ranking scale of 0-4, where 4 is severe regurgitation. The results were as follows: for nine patients, rank = 0, and percentage of regurgitation (mean +- SD) = 3.6 +- 5; for five patients, rank = 1 and percentage regurgitation = 15.8 +- 3; for 13 patients, rank = 2 and percentage regurgitation = 28.5 +- 14; for 16 patients, rank = 3 and percentage regurgitation = 41.5 +- 10; and for 19 patients, rank = 4 and percentage regurgitation 54.9 +- 13. A correlation coefficient of .90 between cardiac catheterization and the first-pass technique was calculated. The authors conclude that first-pass radionuclide angiography can quantitate valvular regurgitation and accurately differentiate between no, minimal, moderate, and severe valvular regurgitation