Radioisotope techniques in the evaluation of patients with coronary artery disease.

Cardiac scintigraphy provides an exciting new diagnostic modality. Currently, its two major clinical applications are the identification of patients with ischemic heart disease and the characterization of ventricular function. These techniques also appear to have utility in assessing the size of myocardial infarction, the severity of obstructive coronary disease, and the effects of medical or surgical therapy. Continued careful correlation of clinical and scintigraphic findings will make these techniques even more useful in the future.