New technology helps detect coronary artery disease

Yale New Haven Health is the first Connecticut health system to offer a new imaging agent that could significantly enhance clinicians’ ability to detect coronary artery disease.

Flyrcado, a tracer used for positron emission tomography (PET) scans, is the first new Food and Drug Administration-approved cardiac perfusion agent in nearly 30 years. Once injected it helps show areas of reduced blood flow, allowing cardiologists to see the consequences of coronary artery blockages or damage with greater clarity than they can with non-PET agents.

“PET imaging is a highly accurate method for assessing coronary artery disease,” said Edward J. Miller, MD, PhD, director of Nuclear Cardiology, Yale New Haven Hospital, and professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine. “With the addition of Flyrcado, we can offer an advanced option that supports high-quality imaging and may enhance diagnostic confidence for our patients.”

Flyrcado also makes exercise-based PET scans possible for the first time. Unlike traditional PET stress tests that use medication to simulate exercise, Flyrcado allows doctors to capture images following actual exercise – providing valuable information not possible with chemical stress testing.

“If a patient says they’re short of breath when they’re walking, you can put them on a treadmill, see how they’re doing, inject the Flyrcado, and see exactly what they’re feeling when they’re exercising,” Dr. Miller said.

Use of the new agent will allow YNHHS to expand PET imaging capabilities across its hospitals.