Comparison of multigated radionuclide angiography with ultrasonic sonomicrometry over a wide range of ventricular function in the conscious dog.

This study compared the noninvasive assessment of left ventricular function with radionuclide angiography with that obtained with ultrasonic sonomicrometry. Left ventricular ejection fraction and rate of ventricular ejection (dV/dt) were measured with both techniques over a wide range of ventricular function. Six dogs were prepared with epicardial crystals across the major and minor axes of the left ventricle, paired transmural wall thickness crystals and a left ventricular catheter. The animals were studied while awake after they had recovered from operation. Left ventricular volume was calculated from the ultrasonic sonomicrometric dimension measurements and the equation for a prolate ellipsoid; dV/dt was calculated from the stroke volume and ejection time. Radionuclide angiograms were performed using technetium-99m--labeled red blood cells and an Anger camera with a converging collimator interfaced to a computer programmed for multigated acquisition. A wide range of ventricular function was produced with sequential infusion of isoproterenol, propranolol, phenylephrine and sodium thiamylal. Ejection fraction and dV/dt were measured simultaneously during each intervention using the time-activity curves of the multigated radionuclide angiogram and ultrasonic sonomicrometric dimensions. Regression analyses demonstrated a close correlation between the simultaneous measurements of ejection fraction (r values ranged from 0.95 to 0.99) and dV/dt (r values ranged from 0.87 to 0.99). These data indicate that noninvasive multigated radionuclide angiography accurately assesses changes in ejection fraction and dV/dt over a wide range of ventricular function.