Pharmacologic myocardial perfusion stress tests. Adenosine thallium stress test.

Thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scintigraphy assists in detecting coronary artery disease and assessing the significance of known stenoses. An adenosine infusion protocol is discussed in conjunction with presentation of results obtained in a community hospital setting. Primary indications for pharmacologic stress maneuvers include: Evaluation of patients unable or unwilling to exercise to adequate levels of workload and patients undergoing preoperative evaluation (particularly in patients undergoing vascular surgery). Experience in a community hospital setting attests to the safety of this pharmacologic protocol while showing a diagnostic accuracy similar to results reported in peer review literature. The method has been readily received by referring internists and cardiologists and is associated with a 21% increase in nuclear myocardial perfusion stress tests during the first six months of 1991.