Evaluation of Ventricular Synchrony with Equilibrium Radionuclide Angiography: Assessment of Variability and Accuracy

Background and Aims Equilibrium radionuclide angiography (ERNA) has become an established method for assessing cardiac function. However, limited data are available to evaluate ventricular synchrony with ERNA. The aim of this study was to assess the variability and accuracy of ERNA to evaluate ventricular synchrony by means of phase images in healthy individuals and to compare them with a group of subjects with left bundle-branch block (interventricular dyssynchrony, LBBB) and with a group of patients with nonischemic, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) (inter- and intraventricular dyssynchrony). Methods The population was divided into groups as follows: group 1 included 22 healthy subjects, group 2 included 11 patients with LBBB and normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and group 3 included 14 DCM patients with LVEF − RV mPA). Intraventricular synchrony for each ventricle was measured as the standard deviation (SD) of the RV mPA and LA mPA blood pools. Results Intra- and interobserver correlation coefficients were high for both inter- and intraventricular synchrony parameters. Area under the curve (AUC) was 0.98 for LV − RV mPA ( p p p Conclusions ERNA is an accurate and highly reproducible technique for evaluation of ventricular function and synchrony.