The Cardiovascular Council consists of Society members interested in the performance and application of cardiovascular nuclear medicine procedures. It seeks to provide a forum for discussion and development of cardiac scintigraphic methods in an effort to realize the most beneficial applications. The Council actively seeks individuals who share this goal.

Venkatesh L. Murth, MD, PhD President, SNMMI Cardiovascular Council

Dear Colleagues,

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is a special organization to me and is one that has had an incredibly positive impact on my career. For those interested in medical nuclear imaging of any type, there is no other meeting comparable to the SNMMI Annual Meeting that provides a joint international forum for physicians, technologists, physicists, engineers, chemists, policy makers, administrators and payers. Although those interested in cardiovascular imaging have many potential meetings to attend ranging from small conferences focused into application of a specific imaging modality to the heart to broad radiology, cardiology or medical physics congresses, none offer the broad potential for interdisciplinary learning and collaboration. I believe deeply one cannot be a leader in the field of nuclear cardiology without this type of interaction and such interactions would be incredibly difficult to establish without this forum.

Through the Education and Research Foundation (ERF), SNMMI supports the career development of new investigators who are the lifeblood of the field and represent the path to sustained intellectual, research and clinical growth. I count myself among the lucky who have received a pilot research grant from the ERF. The program has been a major success in every sense in that it has been critical to the career development of generations of investigators in nuclear imaging.

Importantly, the Society has been extremely welcoming of members of all backgrounds and has made a major effort to improve inclusiveness towards international members. That the society has valued and honored members who are physicians who have contributed to the field but are not nuclear medicine trained is unusual in the medical world where too many groups have a parochial view of the world, pitting one specialty as the “enemy” when the real enemies are disease, pain and suffering.

By working together to advance science and clinical practice, we have been able to increase our impact on education, research and clinical practice. One example of this was the 2019 SNMMI Mid-Winter Meeting which had a Cardiovascular Nuclear Imaging theme, headlined by programming sponsored by the SNMMI Cardiovascular Council. The CVC have produced a number of practice changing documents in recent years including Scientific Statements on the clinical use of PET myocardial blood flow quantification and FDG PET for evaluation and monitoring of cardiac sarcoidosis. An Appropriate Use Criteria for PET myocardial perfusion imaging is nearing completion and a comprehensive multi-modality document on amyloidosis imaging is nearing release and publication.

My agenda for this year is simple: I aim to continue and amplify the SNMMI’s strengths of inclusiveness, and emphasis on science, quality clinical practice and education. In that regard, we had our first ever CVC Early Career Networking event at the recent 2019 Annual Meeting with excellent attendance. We will continue to define quality and science as our field evolves with initiatives in PET FDG cardiac infection imaging, cardiac PET-MRI credentialing and other exciting emerging areas to be announced. Finally, we will extend the excellent educational opportunities at the Annual and Mid-Winter Meetings with educational initiatives via digital media.

This year is special in that it will also be the inaugural year for the CVC Outstanding Educator Award and Lectureship. This award gives our community the opportunity to recognize a leader who has served our community over her or his career with a particular focus and aptitude for teaching. This award joins the Hermann Blumgart Award and Lectureship, which recognizes a lifetime of accomplishment in research, as well as our Young Investigator Awards, which recognize promising early career researchers. One unique feature of the CVC Outstanding Educator Award is that the nomination and voting will be open to all CVC members. A Call for Nominations will be announced shortly by Dr. Terrence Ruddy, Immediate Past President of the CVC and Chair of the Nominations Committee.

On that note, I would like to recognize the outstanding contributions of Dr. Ruddy, who received the 2019 Hermann Blumgart award for his many key research contributions. As President of the CVC he oversaw a very successful cardiovascular themed 2019 Mid-Winter Meeting. He is truly a gentleman and a scholar and has been an incredible mentor to me personally as well as many in our community.

I am truly honored to have been elected to serve as President of the Cardiovascular Council. I encourage everyone with an interest nuclear cardiology to join the SNMMI and the CVC, to attend our meetings, and engage and contribute to CVC and SNMMI activities. Please reach out to your friends, colleagues and trainees so they may also benefit.

Cardiovascular Statistics and Imaging Guidelines

1. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: 2019 Update; A Report from the American Heart Association https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000659 
2. 2018 SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Guidelines: Instrumentation, Acquisition, Processing and Interpretation (ASNC): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12350-018-1283-y
3. 2018 Clinical Quantification of Myocardial Blood Flow Using PET: Joint Position Paper of the SNMMI Cardiovascular Council and the ASNC: http://snmmi.files.cms-plus.com/docs/councils/CVC/J%20Nucl%20Med-2018-Murthy-273-93.pdf
4. 2017 Standardized Reporting of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12350-017-1057-y
5. 2017 Joint SNMMI-ASNC Expert Consensus Document on the Role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Cardiac Sarcoid Detection and Therapy Monitoring: http://snmmi.files.cms-plus.com/J%20Nucl%20Med-2017-Chareonthaitawee-1341-53.pdf
6. 2017 Myocardial Perfusion Imaging in Women for the Evaluation of Stable Ischemic Heart Disease: State-of-the-Evidence and Clinical Recommendations (ASNC): https://www.asnc.org/files/Guidelines%20and%20Quality/ASNC%20Consensus%20Statement%20Imaging%20in%20Women%202017.pdf
7. 2016 ASNC and SNMMI Joint Position Statement on the Clinical Indications for Myocardial Perfusion PET: http://snmmi.files.cms-plus.com/docs/councils/CVC/J%20Nucl%20Med-2016-Bateman-1654-6.pdf
8. 2014 Approaches to Enhancing Radiation Safety in Cardiovascular Imaging: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/130/19/1730
9. 2013 ACCF/ACR/ASE/ASNC/SCCT/SCMR Appropriate Use of Cardiovascular Imaging in Heart Failure; A Joint Report of the ACR Appropriate Criteria Committee and the ACC Foundation AUC Task Force: http://content.onlinejacc.org/article.aspx?articleid=1681370
10. Role of Noninvasive Testing in the Clinical Evaluation of Women With Suspected Ischemic Heart Disease: A Consensus Statement From the American Heart Association http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/130/4/350
11. 2013 ACCF/ACR/ASE/ASNC/SCCT/SCMR Appropriate Use of Cardiovascular Imaging in Heart Failure; A Joint Report of the ACR Appropriate Criteria Committee and the ACC Foundation AUC Task Force http://content.onlinejacc.org/article.aspx?articleid=1681370
12. 2013 ACCF/AHA/ASE/ASNC/HFSA/HRS/SCAI/SCCT/SCMR/STS Multimodality Appropriate Use Criteria for the Detection and Risk Assessment of Stable Ischemic Heart Disease http://content.onlinejacc.org/article.aspx?articleid=1789799
13. All Guidelines from the American College of Cardiology can be accessed here http://www.cardiosource.org/Science-And-Quality/Practice-Guidelines-and-Quality-Standards.aspx
14. The SNMMI’s guideline documents for the cardiovascular system can be accessed here http://www.snmmi.org/ClinicalPractice/content.aspx?ItemNumber=6414&navItemNumber=10790
15. The SNMMI's full suite of guidance on Dose Optimization is available here http://www.snmmi.org/ClinicalPractice/DoseOptimization.aspx?ItemNumber=7317&navItemNumber=10793

Hermann Blumgart Award:

2019 Hermann Blumgart Award Winner

2018 Hermann Blumgart Award Winner

2017 Hermann Blumgart Award Winner 

2016 Hermann Blumgart Award Winner

2015 Hermann Blumgart Award Winner

2014 Hermann Blumgart Award Winner

2013 Hermann Blumgart Award Winner

2012 Hermann Blumgart Award Winner

Young Investigator Awards:

CVC Young Investigator Awards

The Society recognizes the need for sub-specialty interests/expertise within the field of nuclear medicine and moleuclar imaging. Councils provide the expertise, professional networking and educational programs for nuclear medicine professionals in respective areas and serve as a resource for development and implementatin of Society policies.

Council membership is voluntary. Councils adhere to Society Bylaws and policies, while operating under its own Operating Procedures, as approved by the House of Delegates, and its own business plan and budget, as approved by the SNMMI Board of Directors.

This secion provides the following council specific information.

Cardiovascular Council Board of Directors

CVC Operating Procedures

CVC Business Plan

CVC Council Reports to the House of Delegates

CVC Past Presidents

The Cardiovascular Council (CVC) works to serve and be a resource for members of the council itself who have special interest and expertise in the field of cardiovascular nuclear medicine, as well as to SNMMI as a whole in its missions and endeavors. 

As part of its mission, the CVC organizes scientific and continuing education sessions at the Mid Winter Meeting and the Annual Meeting of the Society. These activities are for members of the council and for the SNMMI membership at large, and they are also open to participation and attendance by people from outside the SNMMI. The CVC also supports additional programs on specialized topics, such as cardiac PET/CT, CV Molecular Imaging and Cost Effectiveness Research.  News and activities of the CVC are circulated to council members in a semi-annual newsletter. This and other professional information will also be available through the CVC webpage, and efforts underway to expand awareness of cardiovascular nuclear medicine studies to patients and providers via Outreach links through the SNMMI website.

Don’t Wait! Join Now!

The investment to join the Cardiovascular Council is minimal – only $20 annually.  Your membership dollars help us immensely in sponsoring quality programs while promoting medical education, research and patient care related to Cardiovascular Nuclear Medicine.  

You can join online at www.snmmi.org/join or send an email to memberinfo@snmmi.org