Patients with Syndrome X have normal myocardial oxygenation and perfusion compared to normal volunteers: a 3 Tesla cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging study

Introduction The pathophysiology of chest pain in patients with Syndrome X remains controversial. Previous studies using nuclear techniques or CMR to assess myocardial perfusion have shown conflicting results. Advances in perfusion imaging with CMR now enable absolute quantification of regional myocardial blood flow. Furthermore, blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) CMR provides the unprecedented capability to assess regional myocardial oxygenation. We hypothesized that the combined assessment of regional perfusion and oxygenation with CMR could clarify whether patients with cardiac Syndrome X show evidence of myocardial ischemia (reduced perfusion and oxygenation) during vasodilator stress compared to normal volunteers.