Time course and extent of improvement of dysfunctioning myocardium in patients with coronary artery disease and severely depressed left ventricular function after revascularization: correlation with positron emission tomographic findings

OBJECTIVES This study was performed to evaluate the prevalence, time course of recovery and extent of improvement of segments with a positron emission tomographic (PET) flow–metabolism mismatch and match pattern, as well as of PET segments with normal perfusion but with impaired myocardial function. BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that scintigraphic techniques evaluating myocardial viability provide predictive information about the improvement of regional wall motion. However, there are little data concerning the time course and extent of improvement of segments according to preoperative scintigraphic patterns. METHODS Twenty-nine patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction 18% to 35%) underwent preoperative PET viability assessment and were functionally assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography preoperatively and at 11 days, 14 weeks and >12 months after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. RESULTS In 168 (70%) of 240 dysfunctional segments, a “normal” scintigraphic pattern was present, whereas a “mismatch” pattern was observed in 24% (p < 0.01). Mismatch areas were associated with more severe preoperative wall motion abnormalities and incomplete postoperative recovery. After one year, 31% of normal scintigraphic segments, compared with only 18% of mismatch segments, showed complete functional restoration (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction, a scintigraphic pattern of normal perfusion and normal metabolism is more prevalent than a flow–metabolism mismatch pattern. Functional recovery is more frequent in normal scintigraphic segments, whereas in mismatch segments, postoperative recovery remains incomplete even after one year.