Quantitative analysis of myocardial perfusion changes with transmyocardial laser revascularization

Transmyocardial laser revascularization (TLR) is a technique of creating left ventricular transmural channels in patients with refractory angina. We aimed to measure perfusion changes quantitatively using technetium-99m methoxyisobutyl isonitrile. Perfusion scans were performed on 94 TLRs and in 94 control patients at rest and during exercise at assessment, and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. A serial set of scans allowed direct comparison of each patient over all visits. Bull’s-eyes were divided into 5 anatomic regions and a 20-region model. Severity values were calculated for rest, stress, and each cardiac region using a threshold of 1 for analysis. Higher scores indicated greater severity of ischemia and lower perfusion. At 3-month follow-up, the severity was significantly worse during TLR than in control patients both during stress (0.172 ± 0.003 and 0.161 ± 0.003, respectively, p = 0.007) and at rest (0.170 ± 0.003 and 0.158 ± 0.003, respectively, p = 0.002). At 6 months, severity during stress was 0.176 ± 0.003 with TLR and 0.162 ± 0.003 in controls (p = 0.001), with no significant difference at rest. At 12 months, there was no significant difference between TLR and control groups at stress and rest. Regional severity deteriorates during TLR compared with control patients anteriorly (p = 0.001, p = 0.0016, p = 0.005 at 3, 6, and 12 months), apically (p = 0.005, p = 0.0046, p = 0.032, respectively), and laterally (p <0.0001, p = 0.001, p = 0.002, respectively). An apparent improvement is observed in the inferoseptal region at 6- and 12-month follow-up—an area not lasered. Thus, TLR appears to produce deterioration in resting myocardial perfusion in lasered regions, and improvement in nonlasered regions, with no difference in exercise-induced myocardial ischemia compared with that in control patients.