Transient ischemic dilatation of the left ventricle with severe post stress left ventricular dysfunction in the setting of severe aortic stenosis and normal coronary arteries

Transient ischemic dilatation (TID) of the left ventricle observed during single photon myocardial perfusion emission computed tomography (SPECT) is an important non-perfusion finding that may not only suggest underlying significant (usually multi-vessel) coronary artery disease (CAD) but also an independent prognostic factor of adverse outcomes regardless of abnormal or normal perfusion finding. We present a patient with no significant epicardial coronary disease who had significant TID and considerable decrease in the left ventricular ejection fraction with left ventricular dilatation after a rest-stress Tc-99 tetrofosmin SPECT study in the setting of severe aortic stenosis. With the advent of gated SPECT imaging the additive value of determining rest and post stress EF, as demonstrated in this case, aided in the recognition of TID and transient decrease in the left ventricular ejection fraction. These are not necessarily related to obstructive epicardial coronary disease, but are a result of severe aortic valve disease causing subendocardial ischemia in the setting of multilple other non-ischemic etiologies of TID such as left ventricular hypertrophy and diabetes mellitus.