Purpose: The aim of the study was to correlate delayed contrast enhancement of dysfunctional regions of the myocardium after injection of Gd-DTPA with the improvement of regional contractility 3 months after revascularization.
Material and methods: Eleven patients with coronary artery disease and wall motion abnormalities underwent MR imaging before and 3 months after revascularization therapy (PTCA or CABG). Short-axis images were acquired using a cine gradient echo sequence. After revascularization, a representative slice was analyzed 14 +/- 1 min after injection of 0.1 mmol/kg Gd-DTPA using a T1-weighted turbo fast low-angle shot sequence. Improved systolic wall thickening 3 months after revascularization served as criterion of viability and was correlated with delayed contrast enhancement patterns.
Results: After revascularization, 6 patients showed complete recovery of the dysfunctional area, 1 patient partial recovery, and 4 patients remained unchanged. All 4 patients with persisting wall motion abnormalities, 1/6 patients with recovery and the patient with partial recovery revealed a delayed enhancement.
Conclusions: Three months after revascularization, delayed enhancement of dysfunctional myocardium is evident in patients without regional wall motion improvement, while the lack of delayed enhancement correlates with improvement of regional contractility.