Use of Tc-99m sestamibi infusion for detection of hibernating myocardium. A preliminary report.

To evaluate whether a prolonged infusion of Tc-99m sestamibi allows for visualization of viable myocardium in areas of hypoperfused myocardium, 25 patients were prospectively studied. Each patient was imaged four times in two consecutive days in the following manner: day 1:1) immediately after injection of Tl-201 at rest, 2) 1 hour after a bolus injection of Tc-99m sestamibi at rest; and day 2: 1) imaging in the Tl-201 window for 24 hour redistribution, 2) imaging after a 1-hour infusion of Tc-99m sestamibi. The two Tc-99m sestamibi and two Tl-201 studies were evaluated for presence of redistribution. This was present both on the Tl-201 and Tc-99m sestamibi studies (concordant) in 13 cases, and absent on both the Tl-201 and Tc-99m sestamibi studies (concordant) in 9 cases. In two cases redistribution was seen on the Tl-201 images only, and in one case it was seen on the Tc-99m sestamibi images only (discordant). Tc-99m sestamibi infusion may provide information about the presence of viable myocardium which is similar to that provided by Tl-201 24-hour imaging.