Diagnostic Capability & Reproducibility of Myocardial Strain Measured by DENSE MRI in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Kakuya Kitagawa¹, Hideki Miyagi¹, Shingo Kato¹, Yeonyee Elizabeth Yoon¹, Motonori Nagata¹, Shinichi Takase¹, Andreas Sigfridsson², Hajime Sakuma¹

We assessed the hypothesis that myocardial strain measured by DENSE MRI can accurately diagnose the extent of LV myocardial injury in patients with AMI. Myocardial strains were quantified by DENSE MRI and custom made software in 20 patients with AMI treated with primary PCI, and were compared with LGE-MRI. Myocardial strains were significantly reduced in segments with transmural infarction compared with those without. The LV global strain showed a good correlation with LV infarct size. Myocardial strains by DENSE MRI showed high intra- and inter-observer reproduciblity. DENSE MRI may be highly useful for monitoring functional recovery of LV myocardium.