[Serial changes in myocardial perfusion and function after successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, examined by stress thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphic and stress radionuclide ventriculographic studies].

In order to study the early and late effects of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), 201Tl myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and exercise 99mTc ventriculography were performed in 25 patients who successfully received PTCA. Before PTCA, reduced myocardial perfusion on stress 201Tl image was observed in all 25 patients, while abnormal regional wall motion during exercise was seen in 22 cases. On stress 201Tl images, reduced myocardial perfusion was demonstrated in 11 cases at 3-7 days after PTCA, but in none at 3 months after the procedure. On the other hand, abnormal exercise regional wall motion was not observed in any case after successful PTCA even in the early phase. When the patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of perfusion abnormalities on stress 201Tl images in the early post-PTCA phase, no difference was seen in clinical and coronary angiographic findings, exercise tolerance, 201Tl uptake score, wall motion score or left ventricular ejection fraction before the procedure. Thus, abnormal myocardial perfusion without impairment of regional left ventricular wall motion is frequently seen in the early post-PTCA phase. But this finding does not necessarily indicate associated myocardial ischemia.