Left ventricular cavity-to-myocardial count ratio: a new parameter for detecting resting left ventricular dysfunction directly from tomographic thallium perfusion scintigraphy.

Patients with reduced left ventricular function or aneurysms have cavities that appear dark on SPECT thallium scintigrams. We hypothesized that a quantitative index, which relates thallium activity in the left ventricular cavity to that in the myocardium (C/M ratio), could provide information on left ventricular function. A group of 80 patients who had both exercise SPECT thallium imaging and cardiac catheterization were studied.

Reversible tricuspid stenosis. Demonstration with two-dimensional echocardiography and continuous-wave Doppler.

We report a case of pseudo-tricuspid stenosis as a result of extrinsic compression of the tricuspid valve by a large right-sided pericardial effusion. Two-dimensional echocardiography and continuous-wave Doppler enabled accurate noninvasive diagnosis and hemodynamic assessment.