A noninvasive technique for the study of cardiac hemodynamics utilizing C15-O2 inhalation.

A new technique for the study of cardiac hemodynamics is described which utilizes single-breath inhalation of C15O2 (T 1/2 = 124 sec.) and the recording of activity vs. time curves with scintillation counters placed externally over the left ventricle and right lung. The results from 10 normal volunteers and 28 patients with acquired or congenital heart disease have been compared to the findings at cardiac catheterization. The technique is safe, rapid, and nontraumatic, and yielded no false positives or negatives in this series.