title: [Myocardial contrast: scopes and limits].
abstract: Myocardial contrast echocardiography is an noninvasive and promising method for the assessment of myocardial perfusion. At the beginning, the contrast agents were administered intracoronary but now the second-generation contrast agents contain microbubbles that traverse the pulmonary circulation and opacity the myocardium after intravenous injection of contrast. The sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of myocardial contrast is comparable with perfusion nuclear studies. The myocardial contrast echocardiography is currently the best and most accurate measure of reperfusion at a microvascular level, specially the assessment of non-reflow phenomenon after acute myocardial infarction.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Consulta Externa, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología, Ignacio Chávez, INCICH, Juan Badiano No. 1 Col. Sección XVI, Tlalpan 14080 México, D.F.
authors.forename: Nilda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Espinola Zavaleta
mesh_terms: D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans