Nuclear Cardiology Imaging: Utility and Limitation for Decision Making in Coronary Interventions

“Less Anatomy—More Physiology” is the message given by nuclear cardiac imaging. Exercise imaging with radionuclide image is a better predictor of morbid events and of prognosis then coronary angiography and exercise testing. Quantitative approaches of myocardial perfusion imaging are of utmost importance for the speedy assimilation of assessment of infarction, myocardial viability on decision making for therapeutic intervention. Incorporating radionuclide techniques in follow-up of patients after coronary intervention permits detection of restenosis following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or graft occlusion after Coronary Artery Bye-pass Graft Surgery (CABG), thus allowing resources to be allocated in a cost effective manner and an unnecessary expensive intervention to be avoided.