Can a new method using rubidium Rb 84 and coincidence counting effectively measure coronary blood flow without requiring coronary sinus catheterization?
A novel method using rubidium-84 and coincidence counting allows for the clinical measurement of coronary blood flow without the need for coronary sinus catheterization.
A new, practical method of clinical measurement of coronary blood flow (CBF) has proved its value with use on more than 1,000 patients. Demonstrated also is the relation of CBF to other cardiac dynamics and the comparative influence of some pharmacologic agents on CBF. This method of measuring coronary blood flow introduces new principles, the use of rubidium Rb 84, which is a positron emitter, and the use of coincidence counting.1 This quantitative method promises to be of help in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. It permits measurement of the effects of antianginal and antihypertensive drugs on the coronary circulation in normal patients and in patients with arteriosclerotic heart disease. Catheterization of the coronary sinus is not required. Concept The contractile function and nutrition of the heart muscle, the myocardium, depends upon an almost continuous adequate CBF. The coronary arteries alone supply most of the blood to the
Richard J. Bing (Mon,) studied this question.
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