Wideband high-frequency echocardiography to evaluate myocardial infarct size.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to validate the feasibility of wideband high-frequency ultrasound imaging to resolve in vivo the degree, location, and morphologic changes of myocardial infarction (MI) in a rat model.


METHODS
The left anterior descending coronary artery was ligated in the test group (n = 41), and the sham control group did not have ligation (n = 7). The rats were examined with 10- to 22-MHz echocardiography to evaluate the MI size, location, and geometric formation.


RESULTS
The endocardial chamber shape was deformed, with enlargement of the anteroposterior dimension and fractional shortening, and was comparable with the degree of MI both in short- and long-axis sections of the left ventricle. Histologic analysis showed remodeling to different extents corresponding to different MI sizes (small, medium, and large).


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that this technique can be used in vivo to evaluate the MI location, size, and morphologic changes corresponding to the extent of the injury.
Division of Cardiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 655 W Baltimore St, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Jianping
J
Xu
Chengxiu
C
Zhang
Ashwani
A
Khanna
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography