Long-term results of intracoronary bone marrow cell transplantation: the potential of gated sestamibi SPECT/FDG PET imaging to select patients with maximum benefit from cell therapy.

Purpose: This study assessed the effect of different levels of tracer uptake in the infarcted area on improvement of left ventricular function in patients treated by intracoronary mononuclear bone marrow cell (BMC) transplantation during long-term (12-month) follow-up.

Methods: Thirty-seven patients with irreversible injury after their first acute myocardial infarction, as confirmed by dobutamine echocardiography and sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography/fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography underwent BMC transplantation (1 × 10(8) cells), whereas 36 similar patients were randomly assigned to a control group.

Results: In 16 BMC-treated patients with very low sestamibi uptake (<30% of maximum) in the infarcted area, the mean baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) increased at 3- and 12-month follow-up by 3% and 4% only, and mean end-diastolic/end-systolic volumes (EDV/ESV) enlarged by 20/7 mL and 23/9 mL, respectively (P = NS vs.

Case report: Symptoms of advanced heart failure--a case for radiofrequency catheter ablation?

A sixty-year-old man with previous history of coronary artery disease was admitted due to progressive worsening of dyspnoea at exertion (NYHA III functional class) and no angina. Coronary angiography confirmed occlusion of the right coronary artery which was naturally bypassed by homocollaterals with TIMI 3 flow to the peripheral branches. The lesion was not technically suitable for percutaneous angioplasty.