Dobutamine stress echocardiography for the detection of coronary artery disease and viable myocardium.

Dobutamine stress echocardiography has become a diagnostic tool for the evaluation of coronary artery disease and the detection of myocardial viability. In the diagnosis of significant coronary artery disease, it provides similar accuracy to exercise stress thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scintigraphy. Dobutamine stress echocardiography is also a promising modality for predicting the recovery of hibernating myocardium from contractile dysfunction after coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery. This article, reviews our recent clinical experience with the detection of coronary artery disease and viable myocardium by dobutamine stress echocardiography.