Journal of the American Medical Association · 1949 · 97 citations · 2 references
MedicineCardiologyRadiologyCardiac Nuclear MedicineDiagnostic Nuclear MedicineRadiation ProtectionCardiac ImagingNuclear Medicine ImagingHeart ChambersRadiation Effects On The Cardiovascular System
Radiocardiography is a method of recording graphically the passage of radioactive blood through the cardiac chambers by means of a specially constructed ink-writing Geiger-Mueller counter.<sup>1</sup>It permits the study of certain hemodynamic functions heretofore not possible. It is the purpose of this communication to describe the technic of this procedure and to discuss preliminary observations on its clinical usefulness. The method has already been found helpful in the diagnosis and prognosis of a number of cardiac conditions. In some cases information has been obtained which could not be arrived at by any other means. The procedure requires but a simple venipuncture; it does not subject the patient to any unpleasantness and is completed in one to two minutes. According to authorities in the field of radiation, whom we have been able to consult, the method is clinically safe. Radioactive sodium (Na<sup>24</sup>) has a short half-life (14.8 hours) and
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