Exercise myocardial perfusion imaging.

The role of physical exercise in myocardial perfusion imaging is critical for two reasons: (1) stress is essential to create heterogeneity of blood flow in myocardial regions supplied by normal versus stenosed coronary arteries and (2) exercise data provide invaluable information that can influence the interpretation of perfusion images. Image interpretation and correlation with exercise data provide important prognostic information on a patient's risk for subsequent cardiac events.