This review provides a chronology of major international studies of the effect of evaluating transient myocardial ischemia, including with radionuclide methods, and coronary stenosis on the choice of therapeutic strategy and prognosis for patients with ischemic and coronary disease. The authors discussed the rationales for using anatomic, functional, and perfusion visualization methods of noninvasive diagnostics in evaluation of patients with suspected or established ischemic heart disease.