Myocardial beta-adrenergic receptor density assessed by 11C-CGP12177 PET predicts improvement of cardiac function after carvedilol treatment in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Abstract

We evaluated whether myocardial beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) density, as determined by 11C-CGP12177 PET, could predict improvement of cardiac function by beta-blocker carvedilol treatment in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). Ten patients with IDC (left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF]<45%) were studied. Myocardial beta-AR density was estimated using 11C-CGP12177 PET before treatment with carvedilol. Changes of LVEF in response to dobutamine infusion (DeltaLVEF-dobutamine) were also measured by echocardiography. Changes of LVEF (DeltaLVEF-carvedilol) were evaluated after 20 mo of carvedilol treatment. Baseline myocardial beta-AR density significantly correlated with DeltaLVEF-carvedilol (r=-0.88, P<0.001). In contrast, DeltaLVEF-dobutamine did not correlate with DeltaLVEF-carvedilol (P=0.65). Myocardial beta-AR density was the significant multivariate independent predictor of DeltaLVEF-carvedilol (beta=-0.88, P<0.001) among univariate predictors, including functional class (r=0.76, P<0.05), plasma norepinephrine (r=0.85, P<0.01), LVEF (r=-0.64, P<0.05), and age as confounding factors. Furthermore, myocardial beta-AR density was significantly correlated with plasma norepinephrine (r=-0.79, P<0.01) and LVEF (r=0.70, P<0.05). Myocardial beta-AR density is more tightly related to improvement of LVEF-carvedilol than is cardiac contractile reserve in patients with IDC. Patients with decreased myocardial beta-AR have higher resting adrenergic drive, as reflected by plasma norepinephrine, and may receive greater benefit from being treated by antiadrenergic drugs.