PET Assessment of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy

Abstract

Heart transplantation is an effective and life-saving therapy for patients with end-stage heart disease. Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a frequent complication after heart transplantation and a leading cause of graft failure and death. The diffuse involvement of the coronary macro- and microvasculature in CAV poses significant challenges for noninvasive imaging surveillance techniques that depend on regional differences in myocardial perfusion or contractility to detect abnormalities. Recent imaging and transplantation guidelines recommend cardiac PET for CAV evaluation. Current evidence demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy of PET myocardial blood flow and myocardial flow reserve quantification for CAV as well as utility for post-transplant patient risk stratification. Multicenter prospective studies are needed to determine optimal PET measures and to define thresholds for diagnostic and prognostic assessment of CAV.