The 2025 annual conference of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) just concluded. The four-day event, held in Orlando, Florida, marked the 30th year of the conference. Featuring world-class plenaries, insightful sessions, the latest guidelines, and more, the ASNC 2025 conference was a packed weekend of education and networking.

At ASNC25, attendees had their choice of experiencing different focused educational tracks, including ischemic heart disease, amyloidosis, infection and inflammation, and more. Today, we are featuring some of the insightful posters presented during the infection and inflammation track session.

For a complete listing of sessions and posters presented at the conference, visit the ASNC25 official website. 

Infection and Inflammation Posters

FDG/Perrfusion PET Unveils Biopsy-Negative Cardiac Sarcoidosis: A Case of Rapid Progression Nonischemic Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy

  • Description: In this case presentation, a 47-year old woman with a family history of premature CAD, presented with progressive exertional dyspnea and a rapid LVEF decline (45-50% in September to 20-25% by November). Cardiac MRI showed patchy diffuse late gadolinium enhancement with high T1/T2 signal. A rest cardiac PET with N-13 ammonia and FDG showed mismatch uptake in basal to mid inferior, inferoseptal, anteroseptal, and apical septal walls, along with non-mismatch update in basal anterior and inferolateral walls.
  • Conclusion: FDG plays a crucial role in diagnosing cardiac sarcoidosis when a biopsy is inconclusive.

Brightness in the Darkness: Myocardial Viability Unmasked with FDG-PET/CT After Artifact-riddled Cardiac MRI

  • Description: A 65-year-old patient with CAD, ischemic cardiomyopathy/HFrEF (LVEF 30-35%) s/p ICD presented for an evaluation of dyspnea on exertion and decreasing LVEF despite optimal GDMT. During assessment, extensive ICD artifacting was reported. An FDG-PET scan was initiated and revealed viable myocardium at the anterolateral wall with extension to the anterior LV wall.
  • Conclusion: For patients with an ICD presenting with ischemic cardiomyopathy, PET is ideal due to its reliance on glucose metabolism in viable tissue which is unaffected by artifacts from ICD. 

Global Microvascular Dysfunction and Incomplete Recovery in Takotsubo Syndrome: Insights from Serial PET Imaging

  • Description: The study was designed to investigate coronary microvascular dysfunction and its recovery in Takotsubo syndrome patients using serial positron emission tomography imaging.
  • Conclusion: Patients who had serial PET imaging in Takotsubo syndrome demonstrated reversible reduction in rest and stress myocardial blood flow, myocardial flow reserve, and increases in coronary vascular resistance, suggestive of Takotsubo syndrome-related coronary microvascular dysfunction and subsequent subtotal recovery.

Patterns and Characteristics of Relapse in Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Insights from Serial FDG-PET Monitoring

  • Description: This study aimed to characterize relapse distribution, intensity, extent, and total inflammatory burden using serial FDG-PET and assess associations with perfusion defects in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. 
  • Conclusion: Relapse typically occurred in previously involved myocardial regions with reduced intensity, extent, and overall inflammatory burden compared to baseline. The baseline inflammatory burden, not perfusion, was noted to predict relapse severity. Thus, serial FDG-PET may help tailor individualized surveillance strategies based on initial inflammatory burden. 

Identifying Predictive Biomarkers and Clinical Factors for Positive Cardiac FDG-PET Scan in Cardiac Sarcoidosis

  • Description: For this study, researchers strove to evaluate which clinical findings correlate with positive cardiac PET findings in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. 
  • Conclusion: The history of permanent pacemaker implantation is significantly associated with positive cardiac PET scan. In patients who had a permanent pacemaker implanted and have symptoms potentially suggestive of active cardiac sarcoidosis, clinicians may have a lower threshold to perform cardiac PET imaging, which can aid with initiation of immunosuppressive therapy.

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