Left ventricular function is a major predictor of outcome in patients with coronary artery disease. Acute ischemia, postischemic dysfunction (stunning), myocardial hibernation, or a combination of these 3 are among the reversible forms of myocardial dysfunction. In myocardial stunning, dysfunction occurs despite normal myocardial perfusion, and function recovers spontaneously over time. In acute ischemia and hibernation, there is regional hypoperfusion. Function improves only after revascularization. Evidence of myocardial viability usually relies on the demonstration of uptake of various metabolic tracers, such as thallium (thallous chloride TI 201) or fludeoxyglucose F 18, by dysfunctional myocardium or by the demonstration of contractile reserve in a dysfunctional region. This can be shown as an augmentation of function during the infusion of various sympathomimetic agents. The response of ventricular segments to increasing doses of dobutamine may indicate the underlying mechanism of dysfunction. Stunned segments that have normal perfusion show dose-dependent augmentation of function. If perfusion is reduced as in hibernating myocardium, however, a biphasic response usually occurs: function improves at low doses of dobutamine, whereas higher doses may induce ischemia and, hence, dysfunction. But in patients with severely impaired perfusion, even low doses may cause ischemia. Myocardial regions with subendocardial infarction or diffuse scarring may also have augmented contractility during catecholamine infusion due to stimulation of the subepicardial layers. In these cases, augmentation of function after revascularization is not expected. Because the underlying mechanism, prognosis, and therapy may differ among these conditions, it is crucial to differentiate among dysfunctional myocardial segments that are nonviable and have no potential to regain function, hibernating or ischemic segments in which recovery of function occurs only after revascularization, and myocardial stunning in which function is expected to recover spontaneously. Because combinations of all of these disorders may occur, even in the same segments, caution should be used in interpreting the imaging results.