Evaluation of patients with chronic ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction- assessment of tissue viability

There is growing interest in the assessment of myocardial viability in pati ents with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction, in an attempt to identify those patients most likely to show functional improvement post-revasculari zation. Various techniques, focusing on different 'viability characteristic s'. are currently available. Of these. myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) a nd dobutamine stress echocardiography are used most often: however. nuclear imaging techniques are more sensitive for the assessment of viable tissue. Revascularization of patients with viable tissue has been shown to improve function, reduce heart failure symptoms, improve exercise capacity and imp rove survival compared with patients with viable myocardium treated medical ly. Thus. assessment of viability using MPI may guide optimal management of patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction. (Eur Heart J Supplem ents 2001; 3 (Suppl F): F11-F14 (C) 2001 The European Society of Cardiology .