Description
Nuclear techniques were first used in the first quarter of the 20th century to measure circulation time by injecting a radiotracer in one arm and
monitoring activity of the tracer in the contralateral arm. Cardiac nuclear imaging techniques were then used to detect pericardial effusion and pulmonary embolism, and subsequently as differing tracers were developed myocardial perfusion (potassium-43) and acute myocardial necrosis was studied (technetium- 99m (Tc-99m) pyrophosphate), and radionuclide angiography (RNA) used to define left ventricular ejection fraction and function.
