Measurements of the effect of dipyridamole on regional myocardial blood flow with positron emission tomography and the first-pass flow model.

We assessed percent changes of regional myocardial blood flow (RMBF) after infusion of dipyridamole (0.56 mg/kg) with dynamic N-13 ammonia PET and the first-pass flow model. Positron emission tomography (PET) was performed at rest and after infusion of dipyridamole in 17 participants [five normal subjects, five patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and seven patients with coronary artery disease]. Dipyridamole increased RMBF 126 +/- 69% (mean +/- SD) in normal subjects and 55 +/- 43% in the patients with HCM. In the cases of coronary artery disease, the percent changes of RMBF were +19 +/- 19% in ischemic areas and +76 +/- 23% in nonischemic areas. These results demonstrate that N-13 ammonia dynamic PET study is useful in assessing the percent changes of RMBF induced by dipyridamole infusion.