Multicompartmental analysis of late contrast enhancement in areas of myocardial infarction supplied by chronically occluded coronary arteries
Abstract
Purpose
To analyze the relationship between late contrast enhancement (LCE) and the interstitial distribution volume (VIn) of gadolinium (Gd) tracers in the myocardial infarction (MI) areas supplied by chronically occluded arteries from patients. In animal experimental models, LCE has already been shown to correspond to an enhanced VIn of Gd tracers and thus, to a decrease in the amount of intact cells.
Materials and Methods
A multicompartmental analysis was applied to serial MRI images encompassing both infarct and remote areas and recorded with a conventional two-dimensional (2D) segmented inversion-recovery gradient-echo (IR-GRE) sequence during a 15-minute period following Gd-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) injection in 12 patients with Q-wave MI supplied by chronically occluded coronary arteries.
Results
VIn from infarct tissue was: 1) higher than VIn from remote areas (in % of myocardial volume: 74 ± 16% vs. 20 ± 7%, P < 0.001); and 2) correlated with the quantification of LCE between infarct and noninfarct areas at the 15th minute (R2 = 0.63, P = 0.002). However, the difference in VIn between infarct and remote myocardium was a much better correlate of this quantified LCE (R2 = 0.85, P < 0.001).
Conclusion
Detection of LCE in the MI territories supplied by chronically occluded arteries relates to the difference in the VIn of tracers between the infarct and the noninfarct areas. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;29:78–85. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
