Prognostic value of dobutamine stress myocardial perfusion echocardiography in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease and normal left ventricular function.

Objective: We sought to determine the prognostic value of qualitative and quantitative analysis obtained by real-time myocardial perfusion echocardiography (RTMPE) in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

Background: Quantification of myocardial blood flow reserve (MBFR) in patients with CAD using RTMPE has been demonstrated to further improve accuracy over the analysis of wall motion (WM) and qualitative analysis of myocardial perfusion (QMP).

Methods: From March 2003 to December 2008, we prospectively studied 168 patients with normal left ventricular function (LVF) who underwent dobutamine stress RTMPE.