Myocardial vasodilator response is an important indicator of microvascular function and integrity in ischemic injury. The objective of our study was to systematically compare myocardial stress response with native contrast mechanisms involving quantitative T2, T1 and Arterial spin labeled (ASL) imaging. Our findings suggest that oxygenation (T2 BOLD effect), blood volume (T1 effect) and perfusion (ASL) taken together could offer a complementary contrast-free framework to identify vasodilator dysfunction in heart disease. These could potentially offer insights into the myocardial remodeling process particularly in the remote territory, which develops hypertrophy and fibrosis in the high-risk patients in the chronic stage.
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