BMIPP imaging to assess functional outcome in patients with acute and chronic left ventricular dysfunction.

Assessment of myocardial viability is an important clinical issue for patient management during the acute and chronic stages of myocardial infarction. BMIPP (15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(R,S)-methyl pentadecanoic acid) is a free fatty acid analogue which is trapped in the myocardium, thus permitting for metabolic imaging with single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT). Less BMIPP than flow tracers that may be observed in the areas of infarction, may reflect the metabolic shift from fatty acid to glucose utilization in ischaemic myocardium. In this sense, the combined imaging of BMIPP and a flow tracer with SPECT may provide similar and important information as fluoro-18 deoxyglucose (FDG) and positron emission tomography (PET) regarding the assessment of myocardial viability. The purpose of this article is to review the clinical impact of BMIPP in patients with acute and with chronic left ventricular dysfunction for the identification of jeopardized but viable myocardium and the prediction of the functional outcome.