Key Points
- To review current concepts, clinical relevance, and assessment techniques for identifying viable myocardium in patients with coronary artery disease.
- Narrative review synthesizing pathophysiological definitions and diagnostic approaches for identifying myocardial viability.
- Evaluation of diagnostic accuracy using post-revascularization recovery of left ventricular function as the reference standard.
- Recovery of left ventricular contractile function following coronary revascularization serves as the clinical benchmark for determining myocardial viability.
- Dysfunctional viable tissue manifests as hibernating myocardium, driven by chronic hypoperfusion and metabolic downregulation, or as stunned myocardium, which persists transiently after acute ischemia despite restored flow.
Structured PICO
PPopulationPatients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction
IInterventionMethods of assessment of myocardial viability
This review summarizes current concepts and methods for assessing myocardial viability in patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction.