BACKGROUND: The rate of transient dilatation can be determined by exercise testing or pharmacological stress test. It is unknown whether the type of stress has an impact on average transient dilatation index values. OBJECTIVE: To compare average transient dilation index values in 99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy in patients undergoing treadmill stress test, versus dipyridamole stress test. The secondary purpose was to evaluate the impact on the average index value by demographic characteristics, risk factors for coronary artery disease and severity of ischemia. METHODS: The cross-sectional study included 200 patients between 40 and 70 years old, with or without risk factors for ischemic heart disease, with or without a previous diagnosis of ischemic heart disease. The separation between groups was sequential. The software 4D-MSPECT calculated the transient dilatation index and provided a scoring system for perfusion analysis. RESULTS: The average transient dilation index value of the group undergoing exercise stress test was 1.06 (±0.23). For the group undergoing the dipyridamole stress test, it was 1.10 (±0.22); (p = 0.200). There was no association between the type of stress and the average transient dilatation index values. An association was found between the average index values and age only for those patients from the exercise test group (p = 0.009). CONCLUSION: The results of our study demonstrate that the transient dilation index does not differ when patients undergo exercise stress test on a treadmill or pharmacological stress by dipyridamole.
Dilatation; ventricular function, left; exercise test; radionuclide imaging; dipyridamole
