RV glucose metabolism changes associated with RV function

The rate of myocardium glucose utilisation (rMGU) in the right ventricle (RV) correlates with its function and could be used to monitor treatment effects in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), findings indicate.

As assessed by ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), the RV rMGU was significantly higher for the 27 treatment-naïve idiopathic PAH patients than for the 21 healthy controls, at 0.094 versus 0.010 μmol/g per min.

But the left ventricular rMGU did not vary significantly between patients and controls, the researchers report in the European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging. Read more.