A comparison of two methods for estimating the area at risk in experimental myocardial infarction

In a canine model of coronary artery occlusion and reperfusion, we assessed the amount of myocardium at risk for necrosis using both post-mortem perfusion staining with triphenyltetrazolium-chloride (TTC) and autoradiography following in vivo injection of 141Ce microspheres. Twenty-four transverse slices of 5 dog hearts were analyzed. In the same heart slice planimetry was performed both on the calibrated colour picture taken after TTC staining (A) and on the autoradiogram (B). The values for the area at risk, as determined by both methods, were very closely correlated and almost identical: A = 0.977 B + 31.4 mm2, r = 0.99, p less than 0.001. This is in contrast to an earlier report where a different autoradiographic technique was used. In short-term experimental models of coronary artery occlusion, autoradiography delineates an area at risk, matching very closely the area at risk obtained after TTC staining.