Find A Physician
Return to Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans) Overview
More on Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans)
Hospital News
Return to Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans) Overview
More on Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans)
- NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Announces State-of-the-Art, Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center in Washington Heights
- Americans Encouraged to Make Many Lifestyle Changes, Not Just One, to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
- "Bad" Cholesterol May Not Be the Best Predictor of Heart Disease Risk in Generally Healthy Individuals
- 9/11 Lifestyle Changes May Increase Cardiovascular Risk
- A NYC First: Patient Participates in Stem Cell Clinical Trial to Repair Heart Damaged by Severe Coronary Artery Disease
- Columbia Research Suggests Need to Rethink Causes of Heart Failure
- Columbia Scientists Study Advantages of Using Web to Tailor Medical Information to Patients
- Columbia University Medical Center Study Shows Stress Test Saves Lives of Patients With Chest Pain
- Computerized Electrocardiogram Rhythm Errors Common, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Study Finds
- Dean Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Elected Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Diabetics Benefit Less from Anti-Hypertensive Treatment to Reduce Enlarged Heart
- Do Heart Disease and Cancer Have a Common Genetic Link?
- Electrocardiogram Helps Predict Risk for Congestive Heart Failure in Hypertensive Patients
- For High-Blood-Pressure Patients, Preventing or Reducing Enlarged Heart Decreases Risk of Heart Failure
- For High Blood Pressure Patients, Preventing or Reducing Enlarged Heart May Decrease Risk for Diabetes
- Gene Test Detects Heart Transplant Rejection
- Genetic Medicine Program at Weill Cornell Receives Major Boost from The Starr Foundation
- Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke Studied in First-of-Its-Kind Series of Clinical Studies
- JAMA Article Looks at Data-Sharing in Clinical Trials for Heart Disease
- Keeping the Beat: NewYork-Presbyterian Offers Heart Patients New Combination Defibrillator/Pacemakers
- Larger Waistline Is Linked to Increased Risk for Heart Disease in Women
- Left Ventricular Assist Devices May Improve Heart Function and Lead to Search for New Therapies To Obviate Need for Transplants
- Lovastatin Treatment Reduces Events in Patients at Varying Degrees of Coronary Risk and Reduces Need for Invasive Procedures
- Lupus Patients at Increased Risk for Atherosclerosis, Weill Cornell Study Finds
- New Intravascular Radiation Procedures Reduce Renarrowing of Coronary Arteries
- New Laser Technology Offers Promise for Heart Disease Patients
- New Methodology Gives Weill Cornell Team Insights into Psychological Value of Cardiac Stress Testing
- NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Physician-Scientists Present Findings at American Heart Association's Annual Conference
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center Physician-Scientists Present Clinical Research at American Heart Association's Annual Conference
- Physician-Scientist Urges Improved Drug Regulation to Ensure Safety of Non-Heart Drugs
- Potential for Adult Stem Cells to Repair Hearts Damaged by Severe Coronary Artery Disease Investigated in Ongoing Study
- Reducing Enlarged Heart Muscle Cuts Patients' Cardiac Risk, Independent of Lowered Blood Pressure, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Researchers Report
- Researcher Predicts Paradigm Shift in Heart Disease Treatment
- Research Shows Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Lovastatin Reduces Risk of Heart Attack in Healthy Adults
- Scientific Evidence Points to Male Biological Clock
- Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Women May Save Lives
- Weill Cornell Dean and Cardiovascular Expert Makes "Top Ten" Texas List
- Weill Cornell Receives $7.6 Million Federal Grant for Clinical Trials on New Ways To Change Behavior in Patients With Cardiopulmonary Disease
- Weill Cornell Researchers Announce New Gene Therapy Strategy To Promote Hair Growth
- Weill Cornell Researchers Identify a Likely Genetic Cause of Atherosclerosis
- Weill Cornell Scientists Reveal Action of a Histamine Receptor That May Lead to New Therapies for Heart Attacks
Research and Clinical Trials
Return to Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans) Overview
More on Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans)
Health Library
Return to Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans) Overview
More on Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans)
Clinical Services
Return to Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans) Overview
More on Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans)
- Advanced Diagnostics
- Alcohol Septal Ablation
- Angiograms
- Angioplasty and Stenting
- Arrhythmia Control
- Artificial Heart Devices: LVAD
- Cardiac Electrophysiologic Studies and T-wave Alternans Testing
- Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Cardiology
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Catheter Ablation for Cardiac Arrhythmias
- Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (Grafting)
- Echocardiograms
- Electrocardiograms (ECGs), Stress Tests, Holter Monitor and Event/Loop Recorders
- Heart Transplant Surgery
- Heart Valve Repair and Replacement
- Implantable Converter Defibrillators and Biventricular Pacing
- Intravascular / Intracoronary and Intracardiac Ultrasound
- Off-pump Surgery
- Pacemakers
- Pediatric Heart Surgery
- Preventive Cardiology
- Robotic Heart Surgery
- Surgery for Adult Congenital Heart Disease
- Tilt Testing
- Transmyocardial Revascularization
- Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease
- Treatments for Heart Valve Disease
Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans)
Nuclear imagine evaluates how organs function, unlike other imaging methods that assess how organs appear. Small amounts of a radioactive solution that is safe and has no side effects are introduced into the body. A special camera detects the solution in different parts of the body and a computer generates a series of images of the areas of interest.
Cardiac SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) scans — also called myocardial perfusion imaging — are non-invasive tests that are used to assess the heart's structure and function. SPECT scans use small amounts of radioactive substances that are injected into a vein and special cameras to produce images of the heart. Using these pictures, a computer images that are used to measure blood flow through the heart and to detect areas of abnormal heart muscle. Information obtained from SPECT scans can be used to:
- Identify blockages in the coronary arteries
- Determine whether someone has had a heart attack
- Try to predict those at high risk for a heart attack
- assess a patient's condition after bypass surgery or angioplasty
PET (Positron Emission Tomography) is a type of nuclear imaging that can evaluate heart function. PET scans can be used to look for coronary artery disease by examining how blood flows through the heart; it can evaluate damage to heart tissue after a heart attack. Your physician can use this information to determine the best course of treatment for you.
A MUGA (Multiple Gated Acquisition) Scan – also called radionuclide angiography (RNA) – is a test that is used to evaluate heart function by measuring how much blood is pumped out of the ventricles of the heart with each heartbeat (ejection fraction). A small amount of a safe radioactive tracer solution is introduced into a vein. This substance attaches to red blood cells, which are visualized by a special camera and computer as they travel through the heart, and the ejection fraction is calculated based on the computer-generated images.
Find a Physician
Hospital News
- NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Announces State-of-the-Art, Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center in Washington Heights
- Americans Encouraged to Make Many Lifestyle Changes, Not Just One, to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
- "Bad" Cholesterol May Not Be the Best Predictor of Heart Disease Risk in Generally Healthy Individuals More
