Microvascular obstruction on delayed enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance imaging after acute myocardial infarction, compared with myocardial (201)Tl and (123)I-BMIPP dual SPECT findings.
The hypo-enhanced regions within the hyper-enhanced infarct areas detected by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging reflect microvascular obstruction (MO) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The combined myocardial thallium-201 ((201)Tl)/iodine-123-15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(R,S)-methylpentadecanoic acid ((123)I-BMIPP) dual single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a useful tool for detecting myocardial reversibility after AMI. We evaluated whether MO could be an early predictor of irreversible myocardial damage in comparison with (201)Tl and (123)I-BMIPP dual SPECT findings in AMI patients. Sixty-two patients with initial AMI who successfully underwent coronary revascularization were enrolled. MO was defined by CMR imaging. Patients were divided into 2 groups as follows: MO group (n=32) and non-MO group (n=30). Scintigraphic defect scores were calculated using a 17-segment model with a 5-point scoring system. The mismatch score (MMS) was calculated as follows: the total sum of (Σ) (123)I-BMIPP defect score minus Σ(201)Tl defect score. The percentage mismatch score (%MMS) was calculated as follows: MMS/(Σ(123)I-BMIPP score)×100 (%). The percentage infarct size (%IS) was significantly greater in the MO group than in the non-MO group (32.2±13.8% vs. 18.3±12.1%, p<0.001). The %MMS significantly correlated with the %IS and the percentage MO (r=-0.26, p=0.03; r=-0.45, p<0.001, respectively). The %MMS was significantly greater in the non-MO group than in the MO group (45.4±42.4% vs. 13.3±28.0%, p=0.001), and was an independent predictor for MO (OR 0.97, 95%CI 0.94-0.99, p=0.02). Our results reconfirm that, in comparison with myocardial dual scintigraphy, MO is an important structural abnormality. CMR imaging is useful for the early detection of irreversible myocardial damage after AMI.