Study on the effects of coronary revascularization and medical treatment on the prognosis of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy who satisfy myocardial viability criteria on gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) assessment of myocardial perfusion. In total, 140 consecutive patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy were studied at rest using gated-SPECT and technetium-labeled contrast agents. During a mean follow-up period of 2.3 years after gated-SPECT, the rate of cardiac death in patients who underwent coronary revascularization (n=50) was 16% compared with 26.7% in those who received medical treatment (n=90). Thus, coronary revascularization had a protective effect (hazard ratio = 0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.17-1.02) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy who satisfied myocardial viability criteria.