Distribution of Rubidium-82, Nitrogen-13 Ammonia, and Fluorine-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose in Normal Volunteers

Cardiac rubidium-82(Rb-82)and N-13 ammonia heart perfusion (blood flow) studies and florine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18FDG) heart PET glucose metabolism studies are important tools for evaluating patients with coronary heart disease.

This includes patients with known or suspected heart disease and patients with congestive heart failure following myocardial infarction (heart attack) with indeterminant assessments of cardiac health from other types of imaging, such as SPECT perfusion imaging and echocardiography.

These studies help physicians plan potentially life saving procedures to re-establish coronary blood flow to living but severely compromised heart muscle. Rb-82 and N-13 ammonia studies can tell if there is reduced blood flow to the heart muscle either at rest or during stress.

FDG studies can tell whether there is any chance of a beneficial effect from coronary revascularization procedures, for example coronary angioplasties and stents or coronary artery bypass. Revascularization procedures in patients like these may be technically difficult, risky and costly.

Unfortunately the normal cardiac distributions of Rb-82, N-13 and ammonia, and F-18FDG for computer analysis of human studies are not well known and what is known is not widely available for clinical use. The latest imaging guidelines from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology recommend that Rb-82, N-13 ammonia, and FDG cardiac studies be compared to normal distributions or patterns of these radiotracers in the heart developed from a series of normal individuals.

The purpose for these studies is to generate databases of normal Rb-82, N-13 ammonia, and F-18FDG cardiac distributions so that they can be used in the analysis of clinical patient studies at the University of Michigan Hospital.

Inclusion criteria

• Healthy normal volunteers

Exclusion criteria

• Prior participation in a study with significant radiation exposure
• Significant radiation exposure for other reasons, example: routine medical care
• Medical history of physical or treadmill exercise stress EKG evidence of heart or vascular disease.
• Cardiac A-V conduction abnormalities
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Liver Disease
• Kidney Disease
• Other chronic debilitating illnesses ( Example: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Emphysema, Parkinson's Disease).
• Tobacco use, hypertension, diabetes, family history of coronary artery disease before age 45 in males and 55 in females or other coronary risks factors of more than mild severity
• Claustrophobia (fear of tight spaces)
• Pregnancy
• Inability to lay flat with your arms positioned next to your head for approximately 20 minutes.
• Morbid Obesity
• Asthma
• Breasts Implants
• Use of anabolic steroids
• Use of recreational drugs