Positron Emission Tomography (PET): What To Think About

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What To Think About

• The radioactive tracer may be passed to a baby through breast milk. Talk to your doctor if you are breast-feeding and need to have a PET scan.
• PET scans are expensive and not yet widely available.
• A CT scan and PET scan may be done at the same time.
• Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging is a method that may be used to see whether a person with chest pain is at high risk for a heart attack. SPECT imaging also may be done with cardiac stress testing to check for coronary artery disease (CAD) or to choose the best treatment for it.¹
• You may not be able to have a PET scan if you have recently had surgery, a biopsy, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.

Last updated:	September 11, 2007
Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS
Reviewed By:	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine, Paul D. Traughber, MD - Radiology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer