Abstract Background The apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE −/− ) mouse is a well-established model for studying atherosclerosis. However, its small size limits its use in longitudinal positron emission tomography (PET) imaging studies. Recently, the apoE −/− rat has emerged as an alternative. With this study, we investigate the feasibility of using apoE −/− rats as an in vivo model for longitudinal atherosclerotic PET/CT imaging. Results ApoE −/− rats showed significantly higher [18F]FDG uptake than controls in the aortic arch (+ 18.5%, p