Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using iodine-123-labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (¹²³I-MIBG) was useful in predicting the risk patients admitted for heart failure had for further life-threatening events after they were discharged, according to a study published in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.

“Japanese investigators at Osaka University analyzed data from heart failure patients who underwent iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (I-123 MIBG) SPECT scans. They found patients with higher levels of blood-flow defects on SPECT scans were significantly more at risk of dying from cardiac events than those with low levels. ‘I-123 MIBG-SPECT data accurately identified subjects who were at risk of poor outcomes because of cardiac causes,’ wrote first author Dr. Masahiro Seo, a cardiologist at Osaka General Medical Center, and colleagues.” reported Morton.

“‘Further investigation on the therapeutic implication targeting cardiac sympathetic nerve dysfunction in HFpEF [ heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction] is warranted,’ Seo and colleagues concluded,” according to Morton.

Sources:

Masahiro Seo, Takahisa Yamada, Shunsuke Tamaki, Tetsuya Watanabe, Takashi Morita, Yoshio Furukawa, Masato Kawasaki, Atsushi Kikuchi, Tsutomu Kawai, Jun Nakamura, Kiyomi Kayama, Masatsugu Kawahira, Takanari Kimura, Kunpei Ueda, Daisuke Sakamoto, Yasushi Sakata, Masatake Fukunami. Prognostic Significance of Cardiac 123I-MIBG SPECT Imaging in Heart Failure Patients With Preserved Ejection Fraction. JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging. Available online October 13, 2021, at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1936878X21006264?via%3Dihub. Accessed October 13, 2021.

Morton, Will. SPECT scans identify high-risk heart failure patients. AuntMinnie.com October 18.2021, at https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=mol&pag=dis&ItemID=133789. Accessed October 31, 2021.