Función ventricular en pacientes con cardiopatía isquémica: papel del Gated-PET / Evaluation of ventricular function in patients with coronary artery disease: role of Gated-PET

ABSTRACT

Positron emission tomography (PET), in its synchronized mode, also known as Gated-PET, is a powerful diagnostic tool in ischemic cardiopathy. This technique allows adding information regarding cardiovascular system functionality to traditionally PET-generated data on myocardial perfusion and endothelial function. With the aid of radiopharmaceuticals such as nitrogen-13 (13N) and 82-rubidium (82Rb), both with ultra-short half-lives, it's possible to perform a myocardial dynamic evaluation. Recently, our group has begun the first protocol ever in Latin America to include Gated-PET. From a group of 20 patients, in 14 of them (70%), it was possible to diagnose myocardial ischemia. In 13 from those patients, a significant decrease in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) during pharmacological onset with adenosine, was observed. In 6 patients (30%), myocardial ischemia was undiagnosed. After the analysis of Gated-PET data, we found that in 5 of them, LVEF was increased during pharmacological onset with adenosine. In healthy subjects, normal behavior consists of a LVEF increase in order to compensate body metabolic demands.