MR findings of microvascular perfusion in infarcted and remote myocardium early after successful primary PCI

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 11; p. e0206723
• Main Authors: Bethke, Anne, Shanmuganathan, Limalanathan, Shetelig, Christian, Swanson, David, Andersen, Geir Øystein, Eritsland, Jan, Kløw, Nils Einar, Hoffmann, Pavel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Angina pectoris; Biology and Life Sciences; Cardiology; Clinical medicine; Contrast Media; Coronary Angiography; Coronary vessels; Electrocardiography; Feasibility studies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gadolinium; Gadolinium DTPA; Heart - diagnostic imaging; Heart - physiopathology; Heart attacks; Heart failure; Humans; Injuries; Ischemic Postconditioning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Microvasculature; Middle Aged; Myocardial infarction; Myocardium; Nuclear medicine; Patients; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention; Perfusion; Quartiles; Research and Analysis Methods; Salvage; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction - diagnostic imaging; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction - physiopathology; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction - surgery; Treatment Outcome; Veins & arteries; Norway
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206723

The aim of the study was to evaluate CMR myocardial first-pass perfusion in the injured region as well as the non-infarcted area in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients few days after successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
220 patients with first time STEMI successfully treated with PCI (with or without postconditioning) were recruited from the Postconditioning in STEMI study. Contrast enhanced CMR was performed at a 1.5 T scanner 2 (1-5) days after PCI. On myocardial first-pass perfusion imaging signal intensity (SI) was measured in the injured area and in the remote myocardium and maximum contrast enhancement index (MCE) was calculated. MCE = (peak SI after contrast-SI at baseline) / SI at baseline x 100.
There were no significant differences in first-pass perfusion between patients treated with standard PCI and patients treated with additional postconditioning. The injured myocardium showed a significantly lower MCE compared to remote myocardium (94 ± 55 vs. 113 ± 49; p < 0.001). When patients were divided into four quartiles of MCE in the injured myocardium (MCE injured myocardium), patients with low MCE injured myocardium had: significantly lower ejection fraction (EF) than patients with high MCE injured myocardium, larger infarct size and area at risk, smaller myocardial salvage and more frequent occurrence of microvascular obstruction on late gadolinium enhancement. MCE in the remote myocardium revealed that patients with larger infarction also had significantly decreased MCE in the non-infarcted, remote area.
CMR first-pass perfusion can be impaired in both injured and remote myocardium in STEMI patients treated with primary PCI. These findings indicate that CMR first-pass perfusion may be a feasible method to evaluate myocardial injury after STEMI in addition to conventional CMR parameters.