Current Cardiology Reports

, Volume 13, Issue 2, pp 138–144 | Cite as

Imaging of Coronary Inflammation with FDG-PET: Feasibility and Clinical Hurdles

Article

Abstract

Conventional algorithms and noninvasive imaging tests for the identification of stable, hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease offer little insight into the detection of potentially vulnerable and inflamed coronary plaques, those most likely to rupture and cause acute coronary syndromes. Positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) serves as a potential novel modality for the identification of plaque inflammation, as initial studies in animal and human studies have demonstrated that FDG uptake correlates with macrophage accumulation and inflammation. Therapy with anti-inflammatory agents has also been demonstrated in the arterial vasculature to reduce plaque FDG uptake. Although imaging of coronary inflammation with FDG-PET holds tremendous promise, several hurdles remain to be surmounted prior to widespread clinical application.

Keywords

Atherosclerosis Coronary Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) Inflammation Positron Emission Tomography (PET) 

Notes

Disclosure

No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

References

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Falk Cardiovascular Research CenterStanford UniversityStanfordUSA
  2. 2.Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Division of Cardiology and Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolBostonUSA

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