Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesCohort study
Impact of 18 FDG-Avidity and Immunosuppression on Idiopathic and Genetic Cardiomyopathies
- multicenter, retrospective study
Authors' conclusion
Myocardial-only 18 FDG-avidity is not significantly associated with HF or arrhythmia risk in patients who do not clearly have cardiac sarcoidosis (including those with genetic cardiomyopathy). Immunosuppression therapy does not seem to modify the disease course, suggesting that not all myocardial 18 FDG uptake reflects clinically significant inflammation.
Study context
- Population
- Patients referred for both 18 FDG-PET and cardiomyopathy genetic testing, excluding acute myocarditis, biopsy-proven sarcoidosis, or extracardiac 18 FDG-avidity142 (38%) were 18 FDG-avid
- Participants
- 372 patients
- Exposure
- 18 FDG-avid vs 18 FDG-negative patients; immunosuppressed vs not immunosuppressed 18 FDG-avid patients
- 18 FDG-avidn = 142
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of genetic cardiomyopathy
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Values | hazard ratio (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HF composite (left ventricular assist device, heart transplant, HF hospitalization, or death) · Unadjusted | 1.69 (1.04–2.75) | P = 0.034 | ||
| Arrhythmia composite (sustained ventricular arrhythmias, atrioventricular block, or death) · Unadjusted | 1.63 (1.1–2.4) | P = 0.014 | ||
| 0.20.5125Hazard ratio (log scale) |
| Outcome | Values | Estimate | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| HF or arrhythmia composite outcomes with immunosuppression of 18 FDG-avid patients · After inverse probability of treatment weighting | immunosuppressed n=49 · not immunosuppressed n=93 |
- Heart failure (HF) composite (left ventricular assist device, heart transplant, HF hospitalization, or death): unadjusted; not statistically significant after multivariable adjustment
- Arrhythmia composite (sustained ventricular arrhythmias, atrioventricular block, or death): unadjusted; not statistically significant after multivariable adjustment
18 FDG-associated risks, genetic cardiomyopathy vs genotype-negative patients
- No significant differences
HF or arrhythmia composite outcomes with immunosuppression of 18 FDG-avid patients
- Not associated with a reduction in HF or arrhythmia composite outcomes
Original publication
Impact of 18 FDG-Avidity and Immunosuppression on Idiopathic and Genetic Cardiomyopathies. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. Published 13 October 2026. doi:10.1161/circimaging.126.019970
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it