Improving Risk Stratification in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus; an 18F-Sodium Fluoride Positron Emission Tomography Study

Introduction: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events. Coronary calcium scoring (CCS) effectively risk stratifies patients with DM [1]. However, CCS only detects established and irreversible disease. 18F-Sodium Fluoride Positron Emission Tomography (18F-NaF PET) non-invasively identifies areas of microcalcification activity (MCA), prior to the development of CT visible calcifications [2]. We aimed to determine whether 18F-NaF PET could be used to detect MCA in coronary arteries in subjects without prior CHD, and assess the potential for MCA to improve risk stratification.
Source: Heart, Lung and Circulation - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: 277 Source Type: research