Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
C ardiac computed tomography (CT) and positron emis- sion tomography (PET) are emerging as powerful noninvasive imaging tools for the evaluation of atherosclerosis in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).Unlike invasive coronary angiography, CT coronary angiography (CTA) not only assesses disease within the coronary lumen but can also provide direct qualitative and quantitative information about nonobstructive atherosclerotic plaque burden within the vessel wall.Thus, it is possible that CTA-based patient evaluation may provide more clinically relevant information on which to base risk assessments compared with conventional "lumenography."On the other hand, PET is rapidly growing as a powerful and efficient alternative to conventional single-photon emission CT (SPECT) imaging to evaluate regional myocardial perfusion and metabolism in patients with CAD.In addition, PET scanners are now being converted to hybrid PET/CT devices, which, in the setting of CAD, offer the potential for a comprehensive noninvasive cardiac evaluation of anatomy and function.This review will discuss current and potential future applications of cardiovascular CT, PET, and hybrid PET/CT, with a particular focus on ischemic heart disease.
Carli et al. (Mon,) studied this question.