Cardiac PET Imaging: When It’s the Right Test at the Right Time

Purpose and audience: This webinar (hosted by Cardiovascular Business) will show physicians and administrators how cardiac PET can add value to clinical practice, as well as patient and practice management.

Agenda:

• Myocardial blood flow assessment in detecting coronary artery disease
• Assessing viable myocardium in dysfunctional left ventricular regions, examining transplants and vasculopathy
• Detecting cardiac sarcoidosis and infections in implanted cardiac devices
• Avoiding unnecessary interventional procedures

Webinar Q&A: 

Follow up audience Q&A, including answers on reimbursement, patient selection, timing for new agents on the horizon, and more, can be viewed here.

Advantages of PET Myocardial Imaging (PPTX)

Purpose and audience: This presentation is intended to be used by PET providers to educate referring cardiologists about PET in cardiac imaging, and to encourage appropriate utilization and patient access.

Agenda:

• Review the physics and hardware of cardiac PET and compare with SPECT
• Demonstrate and understand the profound differences between the capabilities of PET vs. SPECT
• Review currently available cardiac tracers

PET and Glucose Metabolism Imaging (PDF)

Purpose and audience: Supporting material for referring physicians from the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, November/December 2006

Case Review for PET and SPECT (PPTX)

Purpose and audience: This presentation is intended to be used by PET providers to educate referring cardiologists about PET in cardiac imaging, and to encourage appropriate utilization and patient access.

Agenda:

• Present published data comparing the image quality and diagnostic accuracy of PET MPI to SPECT MPI in similarly matched patient types
• Report on Rb-82 PET MPI event-free survival and prognosis
• Demonstrate, through patient case studies, the effect of better image quality in the treatment of patients
• Gender bias
• BMI
• Multi-vessel disease (MVD)

Myocardial Viability with PET (PPTX)

Purpose and audience: This presentation is intended to be used by PET providers to educate referring cardiologists about PET in cardiac imaging, and to encourage appropriate utilization and patient access.

Agenda:

• Review the ischemic cascade in acute and chronic CAD
• Review various states of myocardial viability
• Review predictors of survival in patients with heart failure
• Evaluate how glucose metabolism may identify high risk patients

Patient Types for Cardiac PET (PPTX)

Purpose and audience: This presentation is intended to be used by PET providers to educate referring cardiologists about PET in cardiac imaging, and to encourage appropriate utilization and patient access.

Agenda:

• Review evidence indicating that specific patient types may benefit from a PET MPI study
• Pharmacologic stress patients
• Female patients
• Obese patients

Strategies for Reducing Radiation Exposure with Cardiac PET (PPTX)

Purpose and audience: This presentation is intended to be used by PET providers to educate referring cardiologists about PET in cardiac imaging, and to encourage appropriate utilization and patient access.

Agenda:

• Review collective exposure from medical imaging sources
• Discuss examples of typical effective doses from sources of radiation
• Review common cardiac imaging procedures and corresponding radiation exposure
• Review ASNC’s position statement algorithm designed to minimize radiation exposure

Standard Myocardial Perfusion and Cardiac FDG PET Protocols and Associated Patient Radiation Doses (PDF)

Purpose and audience: Supporting material for referring physicians from Image Wisely, November 2012

Proposed Algorithm for Maximal Reduction in Patient Radiation Exposure (PPTX)

Purpose and audience: Supporting material for referring physicians from the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, May 2010