FDG uptake within regionally stunned myocardium.

Clinical cardiologists are now aware of several conditions in which myocardial function can be depressed in the absence of overt ischemia or infarction. Myocardial stunning refers to a particular situation in which the contractile state of the myocardium remains depressed after a brief period of ischemia and reperfusion. Positron emission tomography has been shown to be an important tool for identifying viability within stunned myocardium on the basis of enhanced fluorine 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake relative to perfusion. This image pattern has been referred to as a ¿flow-metabolism mismatch¿ and is predictive of patients who would benefit from reperfusion therapies. This review highlights the importance of considering the time course of altered FDG uptake within regionally stunned myocardium.