Table I.
Overview of typical ionizing radiation doses in cardiac imaging procedures.
| Examination | Representative effective dose value (mSv) | Range of reported effective dose values (mSv) | Administered activity (MBq) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest X-ray posteroanterior and lateral | 0.1 | 0.05–0.24 | N/A |
| Diagnostic invasive coronary angiogram | 7 | 2–16 | N/A |
| Coronary CT angiogram | |||
| 64-slice multidetector, retrospective gating | 12 | 9–19 | N/A |
| 64-slice multidetector, reduced tube voltage (100 kVp) | 6 | 3–8 | N/A |
| 64-slice multidetector, prospective triggering | 3 | 2–4 | N/A |
| Dual-source high pitch | <1 | <1 | N/A |
| 264 or 320 multidetector row CT | 4 | 2–8 | N/A |
| Nuclear medicine studies | |||
| Myocardial perfusion | |||
| Sestamibi (1-day) stress/rest | 12 | N/A | 1480 |
| Tetrofosmin (1-day) stress/rest | 10 | N/A | 1480 |
| Thallium stress/redistribution | 29 | N/A | 130 |
| Rubidium-82 rest/stress | 10 | N/A | 2960 |
| Myocardial viability | |||
| PET F-18 FDG | 14 | N/A | 740 |
| Thallium stress/reinjection | 41 | N/A | 185 |
CT, computed tomography; FDG, fluorodeoxyglucose; N/A, not applicable; PET, positron emission photography. This table has been adapted from a previous study (58).