Early quantification of experimental myocardial infarction with technetium-99m glucoheptonate: Scintigraphic and anatomic studies

Abstract

Recent advances in understanding of the pathophyslology of myocardial necrosis indicate the need for a noninvaslve method that will allow detection and quantification of infarcts in the first few hours after the onset of infarction. Myocardial infarct scintigraphy using technetium-99m glucoheptonate is capable of detecting infarction in dogs and man within 4 to 6 hours of onset. Studies were performed in 45 dogs with acute myocardial iniarction: 28 with an anterior infarct, 5 with an inferior infarct, 6 with an anterior infarct studied after infusion of mannttol and 6 with II-gatlon of the left anterior descending coronary artery and repertuslon of the ischemic area. The dogs were given 20 mCI of technetium-99m glucoheptonate 1 hour after coronary occlusion, subjected to imaging 5 to 9 hours later and then killed. The experiments revealed that (1) scintigraphic infarct size correlated with infarct weight for anterior ( r = 0.85) and inferior ( r = 0.88) infarcts; (2) technetium-99m glucoheptonate also concentrated in a rim of myocardium around the infarct that probably represented the ischemie zone; and (3) technetium-99m glucoheptonate uptake by infarcted myocardium could be greatly increased with mannltol and reperfusion.