Current issues in nuclear cardiology

Abstract

Recent technical advances and the introduction of new radiopharmaceuticals have prompted renewed interest in nuclear cardiology. NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) guidelines published in 2003 and 2006 [1, 2] are leading to increased referral rates for both myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and MUGA (MUltiple Gated Acquisition) studies. Some departments are experiencing difficulties with this increased throughput and are unlikely to be able to comply with the required 18-week pathway. To provide a forum for discussion of these and other issues, a meeting entitled ‘‘Evolution and Revolution: logistical, technical and scientific developments in nuclear cardiology’’ was organized by the Nuclear Medicine Special Interest Group of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), and was held at the British Institute of Radiology in February 2007. In this Commentary, we review the main themes raised at the meeting and place them in the context of general advances in cardiac imaging.