Pre-chemotherapy values for left and right ventricular volumes and ejection fraction by gated tomographic radionuclide angiography using a cadmium-zinc-telluride detector gamma camera.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Estimation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) using equilibrium radionuclide angiography is an established method for assessment of left ventricular function. The purpose of this study was to establish normative data on left and right ventricular volumes and ejection fraction, using cadmium-zinc-telluride SPECT camera. METHODS AND RESULTS: From routine assessments of left ventricular function in 1172 patients, we included 463 subjects (194 men and 269 women) without diabetes, previous potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy, known cardiovascular or pulmonary disease. The lower limits defined as mean value minus two standard deviations for ventricular ejection fraction and end diastolic volume were LVEF (men 50%, women 50%), LEDV (men 45 mL, women 40 mL), RVEF (men 29%, women 28%), and REDV (men 73 mL, women 57 mL).There was a significant negative correlation between age and both left and right ventricular volumes in women (r = -0.4, P < .001) but only for right end systolic ventricular volume in men (r = -0.3, P = .001). CONCLUSION: A set of reference values for cardiac evaluation prior to chemotherapy in cancer patients without other known cardiopulmonary disease is presented. There are age-related changes in cardiac dimensions with age depending on gender, although with only limited influence on LVEF or RVEF.