Regional wall function before and after acute myocardial infarction; an experimental study in pigs

BACKGROUND Left ventricular function is altered during and after AMI. Regional function can be determined by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) wall thickening, and velocity encoded (VE) strain analysis. The aims of this study were to investigate how regional myocardial wall function, assessed by CMR VE-strain and regional wall thickening, changes after acute myocardial infarction, and to determine if we could differentiate between ischemic, adjacent and remote segments of the left ventricle. METHODS Ten pigs underwent baseline CMR study for assessment of wall thickening and VE-strain. Ischemia was then induced for 40-minutes by intracoronary balloon inflation in the left anterior descending coronary artery. During occlusion, (99m)Tc tetrofosmin was administered intravenously and myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) was performed for determination of the ischemic area, followed by a second CMR study. Based on ischemia seen on MPS, the 17 AHA segments of the left ventricle was divided into 3 different categories (ischemic, adjacent and remote). Regional wall function measured by wall thickening and VE-strain analysis was determined before and after ischemia. RESULTS Mean wall thickening decreased significantly in the ischemic (from 2.7 mm to 0.65 mm, p < 0.001) and adjacent segments (from 2.4 to 1.5 mm p < 0.001). In remote segments, wall thickening increased significantly (from 2.4 mm to 2.8 mm, p < 0.01). In ischemic and adjacent segments, both radial and longitudinal strain was significantly decreased after ischemia (p < 0.001). In remote segments there was a significant increase in radial strain (p = 0.002) while there was no difference in longitudinal strain (p = 0.69). ROC analysis was performed to determine thresholds distinguishing between the different regions. Sensitivity for determining ischemic segments ranged from 70-80%, and specificity from 72%-77%. There was a 9% increase in left ventricular mass after ischemia. CONCLUSION Differentiation thresholds for wall thickening and VE-strain could be established to distinguish between ischemic, adjacent and remote segments but will, have limited applicability due to low sensitivity and specificity. There is a slight increase in radial strain in remote segments after ischemia. Edema was present mainly in the ischemic region but also in the combined adjacent and remote segments.