Fusion of cardiac nuclear medicine and MRI: New insight in cardiomyopathy

Here we propose the fusion imaging of myocardial SPECT/PET and MRI, and demonstrate new insights in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and cardiac sarcoidosis. In DCM, impaired cardiac sympathetic activity expressed by MIBG scintigraphy was associated with spatial dyssynchrony obtained from tagging MRI. Myocardial T2^∗ value and MIBG uptake were independents predictors of major cardiac adverse events in DCM. Fusion image of late gadolinium enhanced MRI and FDG-PET helps to differentiate cardiac sarcoidosis from myocarditis and DCM. Myocardial thickening and T2 high intensity on MRI and high myocardial uptake on FDG-PET were often seen in non-responder to steroid therapy in cardiac sarcoidosis.