Four chamber FDG uptake in the heart: an indirect sign of pulmonary embolism.
A 57-year-old-male presented for whole-body PET with CT for restaging of lung cancer. Besides revealing postradiation changes, we noticed an unusual pattern of FDG uptake in the myocardium, with prominent metabolic uptake involving 4 chambers of the heart. Later that day, the patient was referred to the emergency department for increased heart rate, but otherwise asymptomatic. CT angiography was performed, which showed scattered filling defects in bilateral pulmonary arteries consistent with pulmonary embolism. The finding of prominent FDG uptake involving all cardiac chambers in this patient is likely related to heart strain caused by acute pulmonary embolism.
Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Ana M
AM
Franceschi
Robert
R
Matthews
Seth
S
Mankes
Elham
E
Safaie
Dinko
D
Franceschi
D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013909:Thorax / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D051598:Whole Body Imaging
D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18