PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Dimitriu-Leen, Aukelien C.
AU  - Scholte, Arthur J.H.A.
AU  - Jacobson, Arnold F.
TI  - <sup>123</sup>I-MIBG SPECT for Evaluation of Patients with Heart Failure
AID  - 10.2967/jnumed.115.157503
DP  - 2015 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 25S--30S
VI  - 56
IP  - Supplement 4
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/56/Supplement_4/25S.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/56/Supplement_4/25S.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2015 Jun 01; 56
AB  - Heart failure (HF) is characterized by activation of the sympathetic cardiac nerves. The condition of cardiac sympathetic nerves can be evaluated by 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) imaging. Most cardiac 123I-MIBG studies have relied on measurements from anterior planar images of the chest. However, it has become progressively more common to include SPECT imaging in clinical and research protocols. This review examines recent trends in 123I-MIBG SPECT imaging and evidence that provides the basis for the increased use of the procedure in the clinical management of patients with HF. 123I-MIBG SPECT has been shown to be complementary to planar imaging in patients with HF in studies of coronary artery disease after an acute myocardial infarction. Moreover, 123I-MIBG SPECT has been used in numerous studies to document regional denervation for arrhythmic event risk assessment. For better quantification of the size and severity of innervation abnormalities in 123I-MIBG SPECT, programs and protocols specifically for 123I have been developed. Also, the introduction of new solid-state cameras has created the potential for more rapid SPECT acquisitions or a reduction in radiopharmaceutical activity. Although PET imaging has superior quantitative capabilities, 123I-MIBG SPECT is, for the foreseeable future, the only widely available nuclear imaging method for assessing regional myocardial sympathetic innervation.