RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Nitrate Administration Increases Blood Flow in Dysfunctional but Viable Myocardium, Leading to Improved Assessment of Myocardial Viability: A PET Study
JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine
JO J Nucl Med
FD Society of Nuclear Medicine
SP 1307
OP 1311
VO 47
IS 8
A1 Riemer H.J.A. Slart
A1 Ali Agool
A1 Dirk J. van Veldhuisen
A1 Rudi A. Dierckx
A1 Jeroen J. Bax
YR 2006
UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/47/8/1307.abstract
AB SPECT with 99mTc-labeled agents is better able to detect viability after nitrate administration. Nitrates induce vasodilation and may increase blood flow to severely hypoperfused but viable myocardium, thereby enhancing tracer delivery and improving the detection of viability. Quantitative data on the changes in blood flow are lacking in SPECT but can be provided by PET. The aim of the present study was to use PET to evaluate whether nitrate administration increases blood flow to chronically dysfunctional but viable myocardium. Methods: 13N-Ammonia PET was used to quantitatively assess blood flow, and 18F-FDG PET was used as the gold standard to detect viable myocardium. Twenty-five patients with chronic ischemic left ventricular dysfunction underwent 13N-ammonia PET at rest and after nitrate administration. Results: A significant increase in nitrate-enhanced blood flow was observed in viable segments (from 0.55 ± 0.15 to 0.68 ± 0.24 mL/min/g, P < 0.05). No statistically significant change in blood flow was observed in nonviable segments (0.60 ± 0.20 vs. 0.55 ± 0.18 mL/min/g). A ratio of at least 1.1 for nitrate-enhanced flow to resting flow allowed optimal detection of viable myocardium, yielding a sensitivity of 82% with a specificity of 100%. Conclusion: 13N-Ammonia PET showed a significant increase in nitrate-enhanced blood flow in viable myocardium, whereas blood flow remained unchanged after nitrate administration in nonviable myocardium. Nitrate use during myocardial perfusion imaging will lead to improved assessment of myocardial viability.