Combined rest redistribution thallium-201 SPECT and low-dose dobutamine contractility assessment in a simple and practical new viability protocol.

Objective Rest-redistribution (RR) thallium-201 (Tl-201) imaging is commonly used for myocardial viability evaluation. Contractile reserve (CR) assessment with low-dose dobutamine (LDD) is another method that highly predicts functional recovery following revascularization. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of a new protocol that provides combined Tl-201 uptake, resting and CR functional regional myocardial information in a single examination.