Nuclear Cardiology

Abstract

Abstract The initial application of radioisotopes to cardiac studies occurred in the mid-1920s to evaluate left ventricular (LV) function. Myocardial stress perfusion imaging was first performed using potassium-43 and exercise in 1973. Stress imaging rapidly evolved thereafter with new tracers (thallium-201 and technetium-99m-labeled agents) and from planar to SPECT approaches. Perfusion imaging rapidly proved its value diagnostically and in assessing prognosis. Advances in hybrid imaging, combining computed tomography CT with radionuclide imaging, haves recently allowed attenuation correction as well as providing the combination of anatomic and physiologic data. PET myocardial perfusion studies have recently become a standard approach for evaluating myocardial perfusion, absolute quantification of coronary blood flow, and coronary flow reserve. PET FDG studies of cardiac sarcoidosis have recently been established as a new approach for defining myocardial inflammation. 10. New cardiac-centered SPECT systems provide high- sensitivity, high-resolution studies, allowing for radiation dose reduction and high-quality imaging studies.