Thirty-one patients suffering from single vessel exertional angina with collaterals (Group A) were evaluated by stress 201T1 myocardial emission CT (Tl-SPECT) with 16 controls of severely stenotic single vessel exertional angina without collaterals (Group B). Group A included 21 patients (68%) who showed an extensive perfusion defect in double artery myocardial regions, including the normal donor artery myocardial region (DMR). However, there were no such cases in Group B, giving a significant difference between these 2 groups (p less than 0.001). Four patients in Group A, having a perfusion defect both in DMR and in the collateral dependent myocardial region (CMR) underwent a successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with disappearance of collaterals. Tl-SPECT findings after PTCA showed no perfusion defect either in CMR or in DMR. This has been explained on the basis that the coronary collaterals stole blood and produced perfusion defect in DMR.