Diagnosis — Methods for Evaluating Myocardial Microcirculation in Patients

Thallium-201 imaging has become an accepted diagnostic tool in cardiology, abnormalities in thallium-20l uptake commonly being used to detect and assess the extent of myocardial ischemia in man. Controversy remains, however, as to the mechanism by which thallium is taken up by the heart, and thus how myocardial ischemia can influence thallium-20l imaging. The present study was undertaken to examine the mechanism and kinetics of thallium exchange (uptake and release) in myocardial cells as well as possible factors that could inhibit or decrease thallium uptake in the ischemic myocardium.