Influence of contrast agent dose and image acquisition timing on the quantitative determination of nonviable myocardial tissue using delayed contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.

BACKGROUND: Delayed contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (ceMRI) has been shown to identify areas of irreversible myocardial injury due to infarction (MI) with high spatial resolution, allowing precise quantification of nonviable (hyperenhanced) myocardium. The aim of our study was to investigate the size of nonviable myocardium quantitatively as a function of time post-contrast when inversion time is held constant in patients post-myocardial infarction using two contrast agent (CA) doses. METHODS: Nine patients with chronic MI underwent two MR scans on a 1.5 Tesla system. Contrast-enhanced MRI data in two short-axis (SA) slices were continuously acquired until 40 minutes after CA i…