SPECT sestamibi myocardial perfusion imaging provides an accurate assessment of left ventricular muscle mass in patients with myocardial infarction

SPECT Tc^99m sestamibi imaging (SESTA) is used to assess myocardial perfusion. Few reports document SESTA left ventricle muscle mass (LVMM). This study compared the results of LVMM by electron beam CT, (EBCT) to that by SESTA SPECT. Thirty patients from a myocardial infarct study had ungated SESTA images acquired on Elscint SPECT gamma cameras. The reconstructed short axis images were exported in Interfile format to a workstation running Analyze AVW^TM. SESTA LVMM analysis was performed using volume rendering and image editing in this program. Analysis is semi-automatic with some operator intervention and takes between 2 to 3 min. The mean LVMM EBCT was 167±33 grams and LVMM SESTA 158±34 grams (p = NS; correlation coefficient = 0.72, coefficient of variation between methods = 15.5%). SPECT LV mass determination may make an important adjunct to the other parameters assessed by sestamibi SPECT imaging.