The presence of contractile reserve has no predictive value for the evolution of left ventricular function following atrio-ventricular node ablation in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation.

Aims: Transcatheter ablation of the atrio-ventricular (AV) node followed by ventricular pacing has been shown to improve symptoms and quality of life (QOL) of patients with permanent atrial fibrillation (AF). In a considerable number of patients, cardiac function deteriorates after AV node ablation. We aimed to determine whether the absence of contractile reserve assessed by low dose dobutamine stress echocardiography (LDDSE) could identify those patients whose left ventricular (LV) function deteriorates after AV node ablation.

Incremental value of exercise technetium-99m tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography for the prediction of cardiac events.

Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) tetrofosmin single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a useful alternative to thallium-201 scintigraphy for the assessment of myocardial perfusion. This study assessed the incremental value of exercise Tc-99m tetrofosmin SPECT for the prediction of cardiac events in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. Exercise Tc-99m tetrofosmin SPECT imaging was performed in 655 consecutive patients.