T2-STIR CMR imaging can be used to assess myocardium at risk with gadolinium present in an experimental setting

Background In the situation of an acute coronary occlusion, the myocardium supplied by the affected artery becomes ischemic. This part of the myocardium is at risk of developing infarction unless reperfusion occurs, and is therefore referred to as the myocardium at risk (MaR). Myocardium at risk and infarct size can be used to calculate myocardial salvage when evaluating efficacy of interventional or cardioprotective therapies. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has been shown to enable quantification of MaR using T2-weighted CMR and has been validated for use in patients. There are few studies validating T2-weighted CMR for ex vivo quantification of MaR in experimental studies, especially with presence of a gadolinium-based contrast agent needed for assessment of infarct size. The purpose of this study was to test if the clinically validated T2-weighted short tau inversion recovery (T2-STIR) imaging sequence can be used to assess MaR with gadolinium present in an experimental ex vivo setting.