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Evaluation of cardiac allograft vasculopathy by positron emission tomography

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Journal of Nuclear Cardiology Aims and scope

Abstract

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) remains one of the most important late occurring complications in heart transplant (HT) recipients significantly effecting graft survival. Recently, there has been tremendous focus on the development of effective and safe non-invasive diagnostic strategies for the diagnosis of CAV employing a wide range of imaging technologies. During the past decade multiple studies have been published using positron emission tomography (PET) myocardial perfusion imaging, establishing the value of PET myocardial blood flow quantification for the evaluation of CAV. These independent investigations demonstrate that PET can be successfully used to establish the diagnosis of CAV, can be utilized for prognostication and may be used for serial monitoring of HT recipients. In addition, molecular imaging techniques have started to emerge as new tools to enhance our knowledge to better understand the pathophysiology of CAV.

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Abbreviations

CAV:

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy

HT:

Heart transplant

CA:

Coronary angiography

IVUS:

Intravascular ultrasound

MBF:

Myocardial blood flow

ISHLT:

International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation

AUC:

Area under curve

MFR:

Myocardial flow reserve

Rb:

Rubidium

ACS:

Acute coronary syndrome

HF:

Heart failure

FDG:

Fluorodeoxyglucose

MMP:

Matrix metalloproteinase

DSE:

Dobutamine stress echocardiography

SPECT:

Single-photon emission tomography

CTA:

Computed tomography angiography

CMR:

Cardiac magnetic resonance

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Dr. Feher and Dr. Sinusas has nothing to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, P.O. Box 208017, Dana 3, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Attila Feher & Albert J. Sinusas

  2. Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Albert J. Sinusas

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Albert J. Sinusas

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  1. Attila Feher
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Feher, A., Sinusas, A.J. Evaluation of cardiac allograft vasculopathy by positron emission tomography. J. Nucl. Cardiol. 28, 2616–2628 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-020-02438-0

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