Noninvasive dynamic imaging modalities, including PET, SPECT, CT, MRI, and echocardiography, provide quantitative assessment of myocardial blood flow for diagnosing coronary microvascular dysfunction.
Noninvasive dynamic imaging modalities, particularly PET, are valuable tools for the quantitative assessment of myocardial blood flow and diagnosis of coronary microvascular dysfunction.
A healthy, functional microcirculation in combination with nonobstructed epicardial coronary arteries is the prerequisite of normal myocardial perfusion. Quantitative assessment in myocardial perfusion and determination of absolute myocardial blood flow can be achieved noninvasively using dynamic imaging with multiple imaging modalities. Extensive evidence supports the clinical value of noninvasively assessing indices of coronary flow for diagnosing coronary microvascular dysfunction; in certain diseases, the degree of coronary microvascular impairment carries important prognostic relevance. Although, currently positron emission tomography is the most commonly used tool for the quantification of myocardial blood flow, other modalities, including single-photon emission computed tomography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and myocardial contrast echocardiography, have emerged as techniques with great promise for determination of coronary microvascular dysfunction. The following review will describe basic concepts of coronary and microvascular physiology, review available modalities for dynamic imaging for quantitative assessment of coronary perfusion and myocardial blood flow, and discuss their application in distinct forms of coronary microvascular dysfunction.
Fehér et al. (Tue,) conducted a review in Coronary microvascular dysfunction. Noninvasive dynamic imaging modalities (PET, SPECT, CT, MRI, myocardial contrast echocardiography) was evaluated. Noninvasive dynamic imaging modalities, including PET, SPECT, CT, MRI, and echocardiography, provide quantitative assessment of myocardial blood flow for diagnosing coronary microvascular dysfunction.