Which radiopharmaceutical is used for measuring myocardial oxygen utilization and reflects tissue fatty acid metabolism?

The radiopharmaceutical used for measuring myocardial oxygen utilization and reflecting tissue fatty acid metabolism is 11C-Sodium Acetate. This compound plays a significant role because it is utilized in metabolic studies, particularly in the context of cardiac PET imaging.

11C-Sodium Acetate provides insight into the fatty acid metabolism of heart tissue, which is crucial for understanding cardiac function under various physiological and pathological conditions. Measurements of myocardial oxygen consumption often rely on understanding how the heart metabolizes different substrates, including fatty acids, and 11C-Sodium Acetate is specifically relevant for this type of evaluation.

Furthermore, there are other radiopharmaceuticals mentioned, such as FDG (Fluorodeoxyglucose), primarily used for glucose metabolism assessment rather than fatty acid metabolism, aligning it more with measuring the glucose uptake in various tissues, including myocardial.

In contrast, 11C-Choline and 11C-Methyl Iodide are more specific for different applications, such as assessing cell proliferation and tumor metabolism, rather than directly measuring oxygen utilization or fatty acid metabolism in cardiac tissues. This distinction highlights the unique role of 11C-Sodium Acetate in metabolic imaging related to myocardial oxygen consumption.