[F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose for diagnosis of myocardial viability: applications in clinical practice].

The number of patients with heart failure secondary to chronic ischemic heart disease, also called ischemic cardiomyopathy, is increasing in clinical cardiology. Left ventricular dysfunction after ischemic episodes has been shown to be potentially reversible, as in the case of hibernating or stunned myocardium. Thus, the detection of viable myocardium is of critical importance for a therapeutic stratification of patients with left ventricular dysfunction. Viability assessment should prove decision support to achieve an optimal management of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy by predicting the capacity of improvement of left ventricular function after revascularisation. Cardiac F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (F-18-FDG-PET) imaging is considered the "gold-standard" for assessment of myocardial viability. This article reviews the fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography imaging from a clinical viewpoint.