Hackensack Meridian Health recently became the first hospital in the state to induce a new heart scan called Myocardial Perfusion Imaging.
The procedure uses a radioactive tracer, Flurpiridaz F-18 also known as Flyrcado, and took less than an hour to undergo a full scan. The procedure is not only speedy, but provides incredibly detailed images of the heart and arteries — allowing doctors to accurately assess the flow even in very small arteries.
Director of the NonInvasive Cardiology Lab Dr. Marian Vandyck-Acquah explained the upgrade.
“The tracer significantly enhances our ability to accurately determine any flow abnormalities in great detail in many patient types when combined with Cardiac PET CT scan with less radiation,” he said. “This remains a problem we face with other nuclear testing.”
Laudis Chavez, a cardiac technician at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center was the first patient to undergo this testing.
Coronary artery disease, a type of heart disease, is the leading cause of death in the U,S.
Chavez, like many professionals in health care, understands how challenging it is navigating heart health.
“Nuclear stress tests can be long, uncomfortable, and even intimidating for some patients,” she explained. “The radioactive tracer, the exercise or medication, then lying still on a table for what feels like forever, it can be a lot.”
