Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that utilizes radioactive tracers to gain information on physiological or pathophysiological processes in vivo. Different tracers can provide information on different processes of interest. In cardiology, metabolic processes consuming oxygen (aerobic) can be studied with 11-Carbon-Acetate, sympathetic innervation can be studied with 11-Carbon-hydroxyephedrine and using 15-Oxygen-water the myocardial blood flow. Structural information of the heart such as left ventricular mass, left ventricular volumes and wall thickness can also be calculated with PET.~The aim is to correlate PET parameters and burden of ventricular arrhythmias in order to improve risk stratification in HCM.
The overall rationale is to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death in individuals with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The novel approach of this study is to correlate Positron Emission Tomography (PET) findings to ventricular arrhythmias detected by the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). This could potentially lead to an improved risk stratification of HCM patients.