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Molecular Imaging of Cardiac Amyloidosis

  • Molecular Imaging (J Wu and PK Nguyen, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Cardiac amyloidosis is an infiltrative cardiomyopathy, most commonly due to light chain amyloidosis [AL] or transthyretin amyloidosis [ATTR]; both cause significant heart failure and mortality. This review is a comprehensive overview of radionuclide molecular imaging in cardiac amyloidosis, highlighting the latest advancements in aiding diagnosis and prognosis.

Recent Findings

Specific bone scintigraphy agents have a high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis. Amyloid-binding radiotracers, originally developed for imaging Alzheimer’s disease, are being employed to image light chain and transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis. There is ongoing research into the use of these tracers for precise quantification of cardiac amyloidosis, which can be used to guide therapy.

Summary

Radionuclide molecular imaging techniques have a vital role in advancing the field of cardiac amyloidosis. With a broadening armamentarium of novel radio tracers and new therapeutic developments, this is an exciting area, with potential breakthroughs on the horizon.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiovascular Imaging Program, Departments of Medicine (Cardiovascular Division) and Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Sarah Cuddy & Sharmila Dorbala

  2. Cardiac Amyloidosis Program, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Rodney Falk & Sharmila Dorbala

  3. Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Rodney Falk

  4. Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Sharmila Dorbala

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  1. Sarah Cuddy
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  2. Rodney Falk
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  3. Sharmila Dorbala
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Correspondence to Sharmila Dorbala.

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Conflict of Interest

Rodney Falk reports grants from the National Institutes of Health, during the conduct of study, as well as grants from Glaxo Smith Kline, Pfizer, Alnylam, MedPace, and Icon, outside of the submitted work.

Sharmila Dorbala reports grants from the National Institutes of Health and American Heart Association, during the conduct of study.

Sarah Cuddy declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Molecular Imaging

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Cuddy, S., Falk, R. & Dorbala, S. Molecular Imaging of Cardiac Amyloidosis. Curr Cardiovasc Imaging Rep 11, 17 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12410-018-9457-1

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