What is an alternative to exercise stress imaging?

Adenosine is recognized as an effective alternative to exercise stress imaging because it acts as a coronary vasodilator. It mimics the physiological effects of exercise by increasing blood flow to the heart, which is particularly valuable in patients who are unable to perform physical exercise due to various limitations such as mobility issues or other health concerns.

Dipyridamole is also a coronary vasodilator and is commonly used for this purpose, as it induces similar effects by enhancing blood flow during imaging. Its function is to promote the uptake of the radiotracer in the myocardium during a stress test, allowing for adequate visualization of cardiac perfusion during a PET scan. Therefore, it directly replaces the need for physical stress, making it suitable for patients unable to exercise.

While dobutamine can also be employed as a pharmacological stress agent by increasing heart rate and myocardial contractility, it is more commonly used in scenarios involving patients with poor exercise capacity but may not elicit the same vasodilatory response as adenosine or dipyridamole. Atropine serves a different function, primarily used to increase heart rate through direct muscarinic receptor antagonism and is generally not considered for stress imaging.

Thus, dipyridamole is