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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography
08:13

In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography

Published on: February 16, 2016

Contrast echocardiography for the assessment of myocardial viability

Sajad A Hayat1, Roxy Senior

  • 1Department of Cardiology, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow HA1 3UJ, UK.

Current Opinion in Cardiology
|August 11, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) is a safe and practical bedside tool for assessing heart muscle viability after heart attack. MCE accurately differentiates damaged from viable tissue, aiding treatment decisions for coronary artery disease.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Medical Imaging
  • Echocardiography

Background:

  • Assessing myocardial viability is crucial for guiding revascularization strategies in coronary artery disease and post-myocardial infarction.
  • Non-invasive methods are needed to distinguish viable from irreversibly damaged myocardium.
  • Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) offers simultaneous assessment of myocardial structure, function, and perfusion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the role of MCE in assessing myocardial viability and predicting functional recovery.
  • To highlight MCE's utility in clinical decision-making for patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction.

Main Methods:

  • Myocardial contrast echocardiography utilizes gas-filled microspheres (microbubbles) that remain intravascular.
  • Simultaneous assessment of global and regional myocardial structure, function, and perfusion is enabled.
  • Data supports MCE's role in viability assessment and predicting functional recovery.

Main Results:

  • MCE accurately differentiates myocardial stunning from necrosis.
  • It delineates the transmural extent of infarction and predicts left ventricular systolic function recovery.
  • MCE identifies patients at high risk for left ventricular remodeling and provides incremental viability data with low-dose dobutamine.

Conclusions:

  • Technological advancements have established MCE as a safe and practical bedside technique for myocardial viability evaluation.
  • MCE demonstrates comparable accuracy to other non-invasive imaging modalities like dobutamine stress echocardiography, radionuclide scintigraphy, and cardiac MRI.
Abstract

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