The Assessment of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Patients with Ischaemic Heart Disease by Contrast Ventriculography and Nuclear Angiography

Abstract

In 18 patients with ischemic heart disease left ventricular ejection fraction, measured by 2 different nuclear angiographic methods, was compared with ejection fraction measured by single-plane contrast angiography. The 1st nuclear angiographic technique involves detection of variation in the radioactivity from the left ventricle during the initial passage of a bolus of 99Tcm-labeled human serum albumin injected i.v.; the 2nd is a modification of a gated method, which accumulates the radioactivity detected during the continuing recirculation of the plasma bound radioisotope, thus presenting an averaged ventricular volume curve. Ejection fraction, measured by the bolus method, is lower than that measured by contrast ventriculography or the gated method. This may be due to a damping effect. Ejection fraction measured by the gated method is well correlated with that measured by contrast ventriculography (r = 0.89). The modification of the gated method, which presents the changes in ventricular volume throughout the cardiac cycle without needing computer facilities, is a useful non-invasive means for assessment of left ventricular function.