Clinical significance of silent ischaemia and implications for treatment: role of radionuclide techniques.

Abstract

Radionuclide techniques have added substantial information to aid detection and heighten the clinical significance of silent ischaemia. While non-invasive assessment of myocardial perfusion, metabolism and wall motion have increased the knowledge of the pathophysiology of silent ischaemia, radioisotope techniques may provide information far beyond that obtained by electrocardiographic criteria alone. Whether patients with silent ischaemia should be treated can only be inferred from indirect evidence suggested by preliminary trials. Only randomized, controlled, clinical trials will yield the definite answers as to the effects of treatment on clinical outcome.