Positron emission tomography (PET) is a specialized imaging technique that uses short-lived radioactive substances to produce three-dimensional colored images of those substances functioning within the body. These images are called PET scans and the technique is termed PET scanning.
PET scanning provides information about the body's chemistry not available through other procedures. Unlike CT (computerized tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), techniques that look at anatomy or body form, PET studies metabolic activity or body function. PET has been used primarily in cardiology, neurology, and oncology.
The most effective treatments used in the various medical stages of treating cardiac disease is Positron Emission Tomography. PET scans of the heart is a highly effective imaging tool that is used to diagnose cardiac disease. It is particularly useful in detecting coronary heart disease, a condition in which the coronary arteries (the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart) are narrowed due to the buildup of fatty material and atherosclerosis (plaque). Due to the narrowing of the coronary arteries, blood flow to the heart is either slowed and can even stop. The early detection of coronary heart disease and other forms of cardiac disease is vital as the early treatment of heart disease can prevent heart attack and/or stroke.
Clinical studies have shown that PET imaging is more accurate than other tests such as electrocardiogram (ECG) stress testing, and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), PET has a 95% diagnostic accuracy rating in identifying coronary heart disease. This makes Positron Emission Tomography the most reliable noninvasive cardiac imaging technology available and PET imaging is often used in cases where a suspected “false positive” report has been given by these other tests.
In PET the patient receives a short half-lived radiopharmaceutical. Because the radioisotope used in a PET scan is short-lived, the amount of radiation exposure the patient receives is minimal; about the same as two chest X-rays.
This procedure is available at our main Sarasota campus only.
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