Current Role of PET Imaging in Cardiac Amyloidosis

1366Objectives: CURRENT ROLE OF PET IMAGING IN CARDIAC AMYLOIDOSIS Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is a relatively rare disease characterized by extracellular deposition of abnormal protein fibrils in the heart, resulting in restrictive cardiomyopathy and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Majority of CA occurs due to deposition of two types of amyloid protein: monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains (AL amyloidosis) or transthyretin (ATTR), either wild or mutant type. Differentiating the two most common types of amyloid deposition in the heart is of paramount importance in guiding therapy and prognostication. Diagnosis of CA with endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) has traditionally been the gold standard. The inherent risks associated with invasive nature of the procedure, predisposition to sampling error due to uneven distribution of amyloid deposits, requirement of pathologic expertise for tissue diagnosis, inability to quantify total amyloid burden in the heart as well as assess therapeutic response are major limitations of EMB, making it less than ideal. Commonly used non-invasive methods to diagnose CA consist of echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. The former, although readily available for use, is neither sensitive nor specific for CA. CMR has greater diagnostic value in CA, but false-positive and false-negative results are not uncommon and cannot reliably distinguish different types of amyloid. However, recent advances in nuclear medicine and ...
Source: Journal of Nuclear Medicine - Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Tags: Cardiovascular Sciences (Poster Session) Source Type: research