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Incidental focal FDG uptake in heart is a lighthouse for considering cardiac screening

Ryogo Minamimoto1, Miyako Morooka, Yoko Miyata

  • 1Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjyuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8655, Japan. ryogominamimoto@yahoo.co.jp

Annals of Nuclear Medicine
|April 3, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Focal FDG uptake in the heart (FUH) may indicate cardiac disease risk, particularly coronary artery disease (CAD), even without symptoms. Consider cardiac screening if FUH is incidentally found on FDG-PET/CT scans.

Area of Science:

  • Nuclear Medicine
  • Cardiology
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Cardiac fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake patterns vary under fasting conditions.
  • Focal FDG uptake in the heart (FUH) may signify cardiac disease risk, especially coronary artery disease (CAD).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between focal FDG uptake in the heart (FUH) and cardiac disease.
  • To determine if FUH is a predictor of cardiac disease risk.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of diagnostic reports and imaging for cases with focal FDG uptake in the heart (FUH).
  • Quantitative analysis using maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of focal uptake areas identified on PET/CT.

Main Results:

  • Of 20 patients with FUH, 11 (55%) had coronary artery stenosis or a history of treatment for coronary disease.
  • Two patients exhibited apical hypertrophy.
  • No significant difference in mean SUVmax of FUH was observed between patients with and without cardiac disease.

Conclusions:

  • Focal FDG uptake in the heart (FUH) suggests a high likelihood of coronary artery disease (CAD) in asymptomatic patients.
  • Incidental finding of FUH on FDG-PET/CT warrants consideration for cardiac screening or history review.
Abstract

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