title: Abnormal 18F-FDG and 82Rb PET Findings in Chagas Heart Disease.
abstract: Uptake of the radiopharmaceutical F-FDG visualized by PET imaging can reflect abnormal myocardial inflammation. When utilized in conjunction with other imaging modalities, such as echocardiography, PET F-FDG imaging can help distinguish between active cardiac sarcoidosis and other etiologies of nonischemic cardiomyopathy. We present a case of a 46-year-old man with nonischemic cardiomyopathy and ventricular tachycardia who underwent an echocardiogram suggestive of cardiac Chagas disease. A subsequent F-FDG PET demonstrated abnormal hypermetabolism. The diagnosis was confirmed by positive serologic examination results.
authors.affiliation: From the *Section of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, and †Department of Cardiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
authors.forename: Medhi S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Salimy
authors.forename: Purvi J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Parwani
authors.forename: Kanae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mukai
authors.forename: Miguel Hernandez
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Pampaloni
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Flavell
mesh_terms: D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18