Iodine-123 MIBG imaging before treatment of heart failure with carvedilol to predict improvement of left ventricular function and exercise capacity

BACKGROUND. We examined whether cardiac sympathetic imaging with iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) would predict improvement of left ventricular (LV) function and exercise capacity in patients with heart failure after treatment with carvedilol. METHODS AND RESULTS. Eighteen patients with heart failure and 5 control subjects underwent I-123 MIBG imaging. Heart-to-mediastinum ratios at 20 minutes and 3 hours and myocardial washout rates (WR) were measured. Of the 18 patients, 11 were randomized to receive carvedilol medication, whereas the remaining 7 received a placebo. Only the carvedilol group demonstrated a significant improvement in both heart failure functional class and LV ejection fraction (EF) 1 year after the start of medication. Within the carvedilol group, MIBG WR showed a significant inverse correlation with improvement in LVEF (rho = -0.74, P =.02). The diagnostic accuracy of WR for predicting EF response to carvedilol was 91%. WR also appeared to be inversely related to the peak oxygen consumption rate (rho = -0.65, P =.08), although this did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION. I-123 MIBG imaging appears useful in predicting which patients with heart failure are likely to show the most improvement in LV function and exercise capacity after carvedilol treatment. Further studies in this area appear to be warranted.