Prediction of coronary artery calcium progression by FDG uptake of large arteries in asymptomatic individuals

• Published in: European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging 2017, Vol.44 (1), p.129-140
• Main Authors: Cho, Sang-Geon, Park, Ki Seong, Kim, Jahae, Kang, Sae-Ryung, Kwon, Seong Young, Seon, Hyun Ju, Jabin, Zeenat, Kim, Young Jae, Jeong, Geum-Cheol, Song, Minchul, Song, Ho-Chun, Min, Jung-Joon, Bom, Hee-Seung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Asymptomatic Diseases; Atherosclerosis; Cardiology; Computer Simulation; Coronary Artery Disease - diagnostic imaging; Coronary Artery Disease - etiology; Coronary Artery Disease - metabolism; Disease Progression; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 - pharmacokinetics; Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Imaging; Male; Medical diagnosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Models, Cardiovascular; Nuclear Medicine; Oncology; Original Article; Orthopedics; Positron-Emission Tomography - methods; Prognosis; Radiology; Radiopharmaceuticals - pharmacokinetics; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tomography; Vascular Calcification - complications; Vascular Calcification - diagnostic imaging; Vascular Calcification - metabolism
• ISSN: 1619-7070; 1619-7089
• DOI: 10.1007/s00259-016-3523-1

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake of the large arteries can predict coronary artery calcium (CAC) progression in asymptomatic individuals. Methods Ninety-six asymptomatic individuals who underwent FDG positron emission tomography (PET) and CAC scoring on the same day for health screening and follow-up CAC scoring ≥1 year after baseline studies (mean 4.3 years) were included. Vascular FDG uptake was measured and corrected for blood pool activity to obtain peak and average target-to-blood pool ratios (TBRpeak and TBRavg, respectively) for the carotid arteries, and ascending and abdominal aorta. CAC scores at baseline and follow-up of each individual were measured and absolute CAC change (ΔCAC), annual CAC change (ΔCAC/year), and annual CAC change rate (ΔCAC%/year) were calculated. CAC progression was defined as ΔCAC >0 for individuals with negative baseline CAC; ΔCAC/year ≥10 for those with baseline CAC of 0