Novel PET imaging approach detects heart damage in patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy: Study

Fifty patients with various types of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy underwent ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI PET/CT scans to measure heart fibroblast activity. Key imaging measures—such as left ventricular molecular volume and standardized uptake values—were calculated. Researchers also collected blood biomarkers and heart ultrasound data, including markers of heart stress and function. They then analyzed how the PET scan results related to these clinical and echocardiographic measures.

PET/CT scans using ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI detected activated fibroblasts in 64 percent of patients, with half showing patchy and half showing extensive heart uptake. Those with extensive uptake had significantly higher imaging markers compared to patients with patchy or no uptake.

Across all patients, higher imaging values correlated with poorer heart function, as well as increased blood markers of heart stress.

“Our findings established 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT as a clinically valuable tool for quantitative assessment of fibroblast activation in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, which might enable both early disease detection and long-term monitoring of disease progression,” noted Yang. “Future studies should explore its utility across non-ischemic cardiomyopathy subtypes to refine diagnostic and prognostic strategies.”