State-of-the-Art Paper
Imaging Atherosclerotic Plaque Inflammation by Fluorodeoxyglucose With Positron Emission Tomography: Ready for Prime Time?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2009.12.061Get rights and content
Under an Elsevier user license
open archive

Inflammation is a determinant of atherosclerotic plaque rupture, the event leading to most myocardial infarctions and strokes. Although conventional imaging techniques identify the site and severity of luminal stenosis, the inflammatory status of the plaque is not addressed. Positron emission tomography imaging of atherosclerosis using the metabolic marker fluorodeoxyglucose allows quantification of arterial inflammation across multiple vessels. This review sets out the background and current and potential future applications of this emerging biomarker of cardiovascular risk, along with its limitations.

Key Words

atherosclerosis
imaging
positron emission tomography

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ACS
acute coronary syndrome
CT
computed tomography
FDG
fluorodeoxyglucose
GLUT
glucose transporter protein
MRI
magnetic resonance imaging
PET
positron emission tomography

Cited by (0)

Work described in this article was supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Centerand the British Heart Foundation. Dr. Rudd is an advisory board member for Roche and BG Medicine, has received research funding from GlaxoSmithKline, has received consulting fees from VIA Pharmaceuticals, and has received fees from WebMD for providing conference coverage on their website. Dr. Machac has relationships with Phillips, GE Healthcare, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Klimas is an employee of Merck and Co. Dr. Fuster is the Chair of the HRP Study with BG Medicine. Joseph L. Wu, MD, PhD, served as Guest Editor for this paper.

Copyright © 2010 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.