Since the introduction of myocardial perfusion imaging and radionuclide angiography in the mid-seventies, cardiovascular nuclear medicine has undergone an explosive growth. The use of nuclear cardiology techniques has become one of the cornerstones of the noninvasive assessment of coronary artery disease. In the past 15 years major steps have been made from visual analysis to quantitative analysis, from planar imaging to tomographic imaging, from detection of disease to prognosis, and from separate evaluations of perfusion, metabolism, and function to an integrated assessment of myocardial viability. In recent years many more advances have been made in cardiovascular nuclear imaging, such as the development of new imaging agents, reevaluation of existing procedures, and new clinical applications. This book describes the most recent developments in nuclear cardiology and also addresses new contrast agents in MRI. What's New in Cardiac Imaging will assist the clinical cardiologist, the cardiology fellow, the nuclear medicine physician, and the radiologist in understanding the most recent achievements in clinical cardiovascular nuclear imaging.

Myocardial viability has become one of the most important issues in clinical cardiology. In particular, absence or presence of viability may be decisive in patient management, and the decision to perform angioplasty (PTCA) or bypass surgery (CABG) is frequently based on the accurate assessment of viability. Although echocardiography and conventional nuclear medicine techniques may provide valuable information on viability, positron emission tomography (PET) is currently considered to be the gold standard for the assessment of myocardial viability. The simultaneous evaluation of myocardial metabolism and perfusion allows precise delineation and accurate quantification of residual myocardial viability in affected regions. In addition, accurate quantification of myocardial perfusion alone may provide insight into the basic mechanisms of syndrome X and may assist in the appropriate clarification of this clinically complicated, but frequently occurring phenomenon. Besides that, cardiac PET may deepen our insight into metabolism and perfusion of cardiac muscle disease, particularly in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, receptor imaging studies with PET will become important as the study of cardiac neurohumoral regulation in heart failure has gained in interest. Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography: Viability, Perfusion, Receptors and Cardiomyopathy describes the most recent developments in cardiac PET as these are related to myocardial viability and myocardial perfusion studies of syndrome X. The value of PET for receptor imaging and cardiac muscle disease is also discussed. For cardiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, radiochemists, physiologists, technicians and basic researchers interested in understanding the most recent achievements in cardiovascular PET.

In Advanced Imaging in Coronary Artery Disease, the role of several imaging techniques in diagnosing atherosclerosis, assessment of myocardial ischemia, myocardial viability, and heart failure are broadly discussed. The issues derived from cardiac PET are presented in relation to the conventional techniques, such as echocardiography, SPECT and MRI. In addition, newer imaging techniques such as intracoronary ultrasound, electron beam computed tomography, and Raman spectroscopy are given wide attention. The effects of drug treatment, such as anti-ischemic and lipid-lowering drugs, are also evaluated. This book will assist clinical cardiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, fellows in cardiology and nuclear medicine, radiochemists, basic research fellows, and technicians, in understanding the new advances in clinical cardiac PET.

Since the introduction of myocardial perfusion imaging and radionuclide angiography in the mid-seventies, cardiovascular nuclear medicine has undergone an explosive growth. The use of nuclear cardiology techniques has become one of the cornerstones of the noninvasive assessment of coronary artery disease. In the past 15 years major steps have been made from visual analysis to quantitative analysis, from planar imaging to tomographic imaging, from detection of disease to prognosis, and from separate evaluations of perfusion, metabolism, and function to an integrated assessment of myocardial viability. In recent years many more advances have been made in cardiovascular nuclear imaging, such as the development of new imaging agents, reevaluation of existing procedures, and new clinical applications. This book describes the most recent developments in nuclear cardiology and also addresses new contrast agents in MRI. What's New in Cardiac Imaging will assist the clinical cardiologist, the cardiology fellow, the nuclear medicine physician, and the radiologist in understanding the most recent achievements in clinical cardiovascular nuclear imaging.