title: Quantification of pulmonary thallium-201 activity after upright exercise in normal persons: importance of peak heart rate and propranolol usage in defining normal values.
abstract: Fifty-nine normal patients (34 angiographically normal and 25 clinically normal by Bayesian analysis) underwent thallium-201 imaging after maximal upright exercise. Lung activity was quantitated relative to myocardial activity and a lung/myocardial activity ratio was determined for each patient. Stepwise regression analysis was then used to examine the influence of patient clinical characteristics and exercise variables on the lung/myocardium ratio. Peak heart rate during exercise and propranolol usage both showed significant negative regression coefficients (p less than 0.001). No other patient data showed a significant relation. Using the regression equation and the estimated variance, a 95% confidence level upper limit of normal could be determined for a give peak heart rate and propranolol status. Sixty-one other patients were studied to validate the predicted upper limits of normal based on this model. None of the 27 patients without coronary artery disease had an elevated lung/myocardial ratio, compared with 1 of 8 with 1-vessel disease (difference not significant), 6 of 14 with 2-vessel disease (p less than 0.005), and 6 of 12 with 3-vessel disease (p less than 0.0001). Thus, lung activity on upright exercise thallium-201 studies can be quantitated relative to myocardial activity, and is inversely related to peak heart rate and propranolol use. Use of a regression analysis allows determination of a 95% confidence upper limit of normal to be anticipated in an individual patient.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D011433:Propranolol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000378:metabolism*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013793:Thallium / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes; D011433:Propranolol; D013793:Thallium