Myocardial viability by contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance in patients with coronary artery disease: comparison with gated single-photon emission tomography and FDG position emission tomography.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the value of contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in viability for patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction (ejection fraction [EF]

Results: One hundred sixteen patients (EF 37.8 +/- 16.2%) underwent stress-reinjection or rest-redistribution gated-SPECT and CMR (46 FDG-PET) within 1 month. All images were analyzed in a 17-segment and 0-4 scales system. Of 1972 segments, delayed enhancement (DE) on CMR correlated well with (201)Tl reduction (r = 0.90, p < 0.0001). The agreement of SPECT (>/=50% maximal (201)Tl activity) and CMR (/=50% of maximal FDG uptake) detected more viability (9%).

Conclusions: The extent of DE correlated (201)Tl activity well. CMR could detect more small infarcts, while FDG-PET could detect more viability. CMR could distinguish between artifacts or infarction on SPECT, especially in poor LV function.