TY - JOUR T1 - Assessment of cardiac sympathetic activity by MIBG imaging in patients with heart failure: a clinical appraisal JF - Heart JO - Heart SP - 1828 LP - 1833 DO - 10.1136/heartjnl-2011-300343 VL - 97 IS - 22 AU - Pasquale Perrone-Filardi AU - Stefania Paolillo AU - Santo Dellegrottaglie AU - Paola Gargiulo AU - Gianluigi Savarese AU - Caterina Marciano AU - Laura Casaretti AU - Milena Cecere AU - Francesca Musella AU - Elisabetta Pirozzi AU - Antonio Parente AU - Alberto Cuocolo Y1 - 2011/11/15 UR - http://heart.bmj.com/content/97/22/1828.abstract N2 - Cardiac sympathetic activity can be assessed by 123I-labelled meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy. Abnormalities of sympathetic cardiac activity have been shown in patients with heart failure, resulting in reduced MIBG uptake. Abnormal MIBG uptake predicts cardiac death, arrhythmias and all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure with a prognostic power incremental to that of conventional risk markers, and may identify patients at low risk of arrhythmias despite current guideline indications for implantable cardioverter defibrillator or patients at high risk for arrhythmias not fulfilling implantable cardioverter defibrillator indications. Prospective outcome studies are needed to assess whether MIBG imaging will have an impact on the mortality and morbidity of patients with heart failure. ER -