Positron Emission Tomography in Coronary Heart Disease

Abstract

With advances in scanner technology, postprocessing techniques, and the development of novel positron emission tomography (PET) tracers, the applications of PET for the study of coronary heart disease have been gaining momentum in the last few years. Depending on the tracer and acquisition protocol, cardiac PET can be used to evaluate the atherosclerotic lesion (plaque imaging) and to assess its potential consequences—ischemic versus nonischemic (perfusion imaging) and viable versus scarred (viability imaging) myocardium. The scope of this review is to summarize the role of PET in coronary heart disease.

Biomedical Imaging Technologies for Cardiovascular Disease

“…This Special Issue included two review articles on positron emission tomography (PET) in coronary heart disease and the emerging use of ultrasmall supermagnetic particles iron oxide (USPIO) in cardiac MRI. De Almeida et al's review of PET imaging presented the recent advances in plaque imaging, and the use of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose for inflammation imaging, microcalcification imaging using 18F-Sodium Fluoride, myocardial perfusion imaging with Ribidium, 13N-Ammonia, and 15O-water, and viability imaging [11]. Tsampasian et al presented a great summary of the properties of USPIO, its use in cardiac MRI, clinical applications, and safety parameters [12].…”