To investigate the serial changes of the infarcted and the noninfarcted areas, first-pass radionuclide angiocardiography was performed in 16 patients with uncomplicated anterior myocardial infarction (MI) at four weeks, one year, and two years after the onset of MI. Global ejection fraction (EF) and regional EF of the infarcted area improved significantly from four weeks to one year after MI (from 39 +/- 16 to 44 +/- 16 percent, 23 +/- 3 to 29 +/- 5 percent, both p < 0.01), but did not change from one year to two years after MI. Regional EF of the noninfarcted area and left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volume did not change during the study period. There was a significant relation in the direction of the changes of global EF and regional EF of the infarcted area during the first year after MI, whereas no relation was observed between the changes of global EF and regional EF of the noninfarcted area. A greater improvement in regional EF of the infarcted area was observed in seven patients who had spontaneous recanalization compared with nine patients with totally occluded coronary arteries. Thus, a significant improvement in cardiac function, mainly due to the increase in regional EF of the infarcted area, was observed during the first year after MI, which was related to patency of coronary artery.