EJNMMI Rep. 2025 Sep 8;9(1):32. doi: 10.1186/s41824-025-00265-5.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Because the myocardium thickness and blood flow of the right ventricular (RV) are lower than those of the left ventricle, it is challenging to perceive the RV myocardium in normal individuals. This study aimed to measure the myocardial perfusion in the RV (myocardial blood flow [MBF]RV, myocardial flow reserve [MFR]RV) from 13N-ammonia PET images and investigate the associations between the MBFRV and MFRRV in patients with and without coronary artery disease (CAD) in the right coronary artery (RCA) region. A total 121 MBFRV and MFRRV were retrospectively measured from PET images by referring to the radioactivity and clinical blood flow values of the left ventricle. Adenosine-stressed and resting MBFRV and MFRRV were statistically compared among patients with RCA-MFR < 2.0 (group 1 [n = 61]), without RCA-MFR < 2.0 but with reduced MBF (group 2 [n = 16]), and without MFR < 2.0 (group 3 [n = 44]) using one-way analysis of variance with Tukey or Dunn post hoc analyses.
RESULTS: Stress MBFRV was lower in Group 1 than in Group 3, whereas resting MBFRV was higher in Group 1 than in Group 3. MFRRV gradually decreased from Group 3 to Group 1.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the potential clinical applications of RV myocardial perfusion imaging using PET data. Our results highlight the importance of evaluating the MBFRV, particularly in patients with CAD. In CAD cases, the MFRRV was significantly reduced, with a more pronounced decrease, reflecting the severity of the disease. Additionally, increased resting MBFRV in patients with CAD may indicate compensatory mechanisms or microcirculatory disorders. These findings provide a foundation for further exploration of MBFRV and support the development of robust automated processing techniques to enhance clinical applicability.
PMID:40915986 | DOI:10.1186/s41824-025-00265-5
