Heart Disease - 50-year-old female

History
A 50-year-old female with history of heart disease waiting for possible cardiac transplant.

Original Diagnosis
Thallium scintigraphy found large non-reversible defect; myocardium judged non-viable.

PET Findings
FDG PET scan found good viability throughout the myocardium except for a small part of the apex.

Change in Treatment
Conventional treatment plan based on single photon nuclear medicine study would have been placing the patient on transplant waiting list. After PET, coronary artery bypass graft was performed resulting in improved cardiac function. Patient had significant improvement in quality of life.

Courtesy of
Amjad Ali, M.D., Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center