Relationship between availability of the collateral circulation and ischemic time for myocardial viability in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Assessment by technetium-99m tetrofosmin single photon emission computed tomography

Myocardial accumulation before reperfusion therapy of a radioactive tracer in the completely occluded region, conceivably reflects the viability of myocytes and degree of collateral circulation. To confirm this, the present study examined the relationship in the title. Subjects were 33 patients (F 7, M 26; average age 65 y) of the first 1-branch acute myocardial infarction and of TIMI (thrombolysis in myocardial infarction trial) grade 0 who recovered to TIMI 3 within 12 hr after attack: 99mTc-tetrofosmin, 740 MBq, was intravenously injected before reperfusion and just after which, SPECT imaging (TF-SPECT) was conducted with Toshiba E. CAM, and regional severity score index (RSSI) (0-3) was calculated. About 1 week later, to see the myocardial viability in the chronic phase, GITl (Glucose-Insulin-201Tl) (111 MBq) SPECT was performed 30 min after its injection to calculate RSSI as above, and the echocardiography with ALOKA Pro Sound SSD-4000 or SIEMENS Acuson SEQUOIA C256 was done to calculate the regional wall motion score index (RWMSI) (0-4). RWMSI was found significantly correlated with TF-RSSI, the group with the better collateral circulation (TF-RSSI, 1.9 or less) exhibited significantly lower GITl-RSSI and RWMSI, and correlation between the ischemic time and neither TF-RSSI, GITl-RSSI nor RWMSI was found. Thus under these conditions, the development of collateral vessels was found to have potential protective effects on myocardium independently on the ischemic time. (T.I.)