Detection of myocardial infarction in the mini-pig using NMR imaging

Spin-echo images of 10 myocardial infarcts in nine mini-pigs were obtained at 30 h, 3 days, and approximately 10 days postinfarction. Infarcts were not detected at all at 30 h in five out of five cases examined. At 3 days postembolization (six cases) one infarct was certainly detected, whilst at 10 days (nine cases) all infarcts were seen as high-signal areas in long TE spin-echo sequences. After 2 weeks no further infarct signal change was detected (three cases), but myocardial thinning became more evident. Using techniques similar to those reported here, early postinfarct changes in the dog have been detected by other authors. Possible reasons for this difference between pig and dog are discussed.