Context (archaeology)

Biology

Bone scintigraphy

Transthyretin

Technetium-99m

Scintigraphy

Radiology

Paleontology

Restrictive cardiomyopathy

Heart failure

Technetium

Internal medicine

Cardiac imaging

Cardiomyopathy

Medicine

Nuclear medicine

Amyloidosis

Magnetic resonance imaging

Cardiac amyloidosis

Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Technetium-labeled cardiac scintigraphy (i.e., Tc-PYP scan) has been repurposed for the diagnosis of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). Validated in cohorts of patients with heart failure and echocardiographic and/or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging findings suggestive of cardiac amyloidosis, cardiac scintigraphy can confirm the diagnosis of ATTR-CM only when combined with blood and urine testing to exclude a monoclonal protein. Multisocietal guidelines support the nonbiopsy diagnosis of ATTR-CM using cardiac scintigraphy, yet emphasize its use in the appropriate clinical context and the crucial need to rule out light chain amyloid cardiomyopathy. Although increased awareness of ATTR-CM and the advent of effective therapy have led to rapid adoption of diagnostic scintigraphy, there is heterogeneity in adherence to consensus guidelines. This perspective outlines clinical scenarios wherein findings on technetium-labeled cardiac scintigraphy have been misinterpreted, reviews causes of false-negative and false-positive results, and provides strategies to avoid costly and potentially fatal misdiagnoses.

Cardiac Scintigraphy With Technetium-99m-Labeled Bone-Seeking Tracers for Suspected Amyloidosis