F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in combination with positron emission tomography (PET) is used in patients with coronary artery disease to detect viable myocardium. It was shown that FDG PET is highly accurate in predicting reversibilty of cardiac function after revascularization when viable tissue is present. Because PET centers are not widely available, the clinical use of FDG is limited. The authors have shown in another study that imaging 511 keV with planar scintigraphy and a special collimator is feasible. Furthermore, they have studied myocardial FDG uptake in normal volunteers and in patients with coronary artery disease using SPECT. Recently, they have studied the value of FDG SPECT to predict recovery of contractile function before revascularization in patients undergoing bypass surgery. It appears that the FDG SPECT approach is feasible and can predict reversibility of wall motion abnormalities. Further studies are needed to compare FDG SPECT with other techniques for the detection of viable myocardium.
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