Imaging of ischemia and infarction in blood-perfused pig hearts using 87Rb MRI

87Rb-MRI was used to measure Rb(+) uptake in blood-perfused pig hearts during complete occlusion (120 and 70 min) of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and subsequent reperfusion (120 and 170 min). The Rb(+) uptake rate and maximal Rb image intensity during 120-min occlusion were significantly lower in the ischemic anterior left ventricular (LV) wall (0.35 +/- 0.14%/min and 26 +/- 4.7%) relative to those in the remote posterior LV wall (2.43 +/- 0.33%/min and 98 +/- 10%). Reperfusion after 120 and 70 min of occlusion resulted in formation of damaged areas, which had 40 +/- 4 and 73 +/- 10% of the (87)Rb image intensity observed in the remote posterior wall. The infarct sizes determined histologically by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining were 9.6 +/- 3.4 and 5.6 +/- 4.6% of the total ventricular mass (LV + RV) in the 120- and 70-min occlusion groups, respectively. The sizes determined by MRI were 13.1 +/- 2 and 2.8 +/- 4.3% of the total number of pixels, respectively. The Rb(+) uptake in the anterior wall during 120-min occlusion was somewhat lower than that previously observed in crystalloid-perfused hearts. It is concluded that blood does not interfere with the ability of (87)Rb MRI to detect ischemic and infarct areas.