Houston Methodist First in U.S. to Offer Groundbreaking PET Tracer Flyrcado for Improved Cardiac Diagnostics

On February 19, 2025, Houston Methodist Hospital became the first in the U.S. to administer Flyrcado™, a newly approved PET radiotracer that promises to transform the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease.

Developed by GE HealthCare, Flyrcado (Flurpiridaz F 18) is the first commercially available cardiac PET tracer available in a ready-to-use unit dose. Its approval represents a major leap forward in myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), offering significantly enhanced diagnostic accuracy over single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), the long-dominant imaging modality in nuclear cardiology.

"With this new radiotracer, we're ushering in a new era of accessibility and precision in cardiac PET imaging," said Dr. Mouaz Al-Mallah, director of cardiac PET at Houston Methodist. "The long half-life allows for centralized production and wide distribution, making PET imaging feasible in community hospitals and smaller health systems for the first time."

Unlike conventional PET tracers, which require onsite cyclotrons or radiopharmacies due to short half-lives, Flyrcado's 110-minute half-life allows it to be delivered to imaging centers as a unit dose. This overcomes one of the primary barriers to PET adoption, enabling nearly all existing cardiac PET centers in the U.S. to expand access within the next year.

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and up to 6 million MPI procedures are performed annually. Flyrcado's superior spatial resolution and enhanced ability to detect perfusion defects enable more accurate diagnoses and earlier interventions, especially in women and patients with obesity, who are often harder to image with SPECT.

"Cardiac PET enhances image clarity and diagnostic confidence over SPECT," Dr. Al-Mallah said. "It gives us a much more complete view of myocardial blood flow, which is crucial for identifying patients at risk before they experience major cardiac events. The emergence of this new tracer means significantly more patients will have easier access to this important diagnostic test."

Flyrcado is also the first PET MPI tracer to enable exercise stress testing, a key diagnostic tool previously limited to SPECT due to timing constraints. This flexibility allows clinicians to replicate real-world cardiac stressors more closely, enhancing the physiological relevance of test results.

"Being able to pair PET imaging with exercise stress testing is a game-changer," said Dr. Al-Mallah. "It gives us a clearer understanding of how a patient's heart performs under load — information that's indispensable for treatment planning."

Houston Methodist's early adoption of the new tracer reinforces its position as a national leader in cardiac imaging innovation. As it rolls out across the country, Houston Methodist is helping set the standard for best practices and clinical integration.

"This technology allows hospitals in underserved areas to offer state-of-the-art cardiac diagnostics without investing in costly infrastructure," Dr. Al-Mallah said. "That's the kind of impact we're proud to be part of."

GE HealthCare will formally launch the tracer at the American College of Cardiology's 2025 annual meeting in Chicago, and CMS reimbursement approval is expected to follow shortly. With manufacturing partners already in place, the company anticipates near-universal U.S. coverage by year's end.

"Ultimately, Flyrcado enables us to bring high-resolution, high-certainty cardiac imaging to more patients, faster," said Dr. Al-Mallah. "That's not just an advancement in technology, it's a crucial expansion of care."