Identification of viable myocardium with technetium-99m-MIBI infusion.

A 50-yr-old man was evaluated using standard stress/rest 99mTc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) perfusion imaging, rest thallium infusion imaging and rest 99mTc-MIBI infusion imaging prior to revascularization. Resting 99mTc-MIBI infusion imaging demonstrated hibernating myocardium which was not detected with standard stress/rest 99mTc-MIBI imaging. The implication from this observation is that resting 99mTc-MIBI infusion scintigraphy can provide useful information when evaluating patients for the presence of hibernating myocardium. A prospective comparison of resting 99mTc-MIBI infusion scintigraphy with other noninvasive techniques used to identify viable myocardium may be warranted.