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Ultrasono-cardiotomographic evaluation of histological changes in myocardial infarction
Insights
Ultrasono-cardiotomography reveals specific echo patterns correlating with myocardial infarction histology. These non-invasive findings can help estimate scar characteristics in transmural infarction.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Pathology
Background:
- Myocardial infarction (MI) leads to histological changes in the heart muscle.
- Accurate assessment of MI-related myocardial damage is crucial for patient outcomes.
- Non-invasive methods for evaluating myocardial tissue characteristics are highly desirable.
Purpose of the Study:
- To correlate ultrasono-cardiotomogram echo patterns with histological findings in myocardial infarction.
- To investigate the potential of ultrasono-cardiotomography as a non-invasive method for assessing myocardial scar characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Collected ultrasono-cardiotomographic data from 9 patients with transmural MI and 11 dogs with experimental MI.
- Analyzed echo patterns, including wall thickness, deformity, and echo intensity, in relation to myocardial histology.
- Classified echo patterns associated with myocardial scar into four types.
Main Results:
- Decreased wall thickness and deformity were observed in infarcted areas.
- Echo intensity of infarcted areas was significantly higher (+10 to +15 dB) than normal myocardium.
- Four echo pattern types (cord-like, scattered large nodular, narrow band-like, scattered small nodular) were identified, with types i, ii, and iii indicating transmural scar formation.
Conclusions:
- Ultrasono-cardiotomography can detect structural and intensity changes in infarcted myocardium.
- Specific echo patterns correlate with histological scar characteristics, including transmural scar.
- This non-invasive imaging technique shows promise for estimating myocardial tissue histology.
Abstract:
The echo patterns on ultrasono-cardiotomogram were evaluated in relation to the histological changes of the myocardium. The ultrasono-cardiotomographic data were collected from 9 consecutive patients with transmural infarction (3 patients with antero-septal, 5 with postero-in-ferior, 1 with antero-lateral infarction) and also from 11 dogs with experimental myocardial infarction. Analyses of data obtained led to the following conclusion. 1) A decrement of the thickness and deformity of the wall echo: They were detected by a series of azimuthal angle and level ultrasono-cardiotomograms which were obtained by changing the direction and level of the ultrasonic beam through the heart along the long axis of the left ventricle. 2) An increment of echo-intensity of infarcted area: The intensity of abnormal echo of the infarcted area, when evaluated by using the intensity of the echo of normal pericardium as a reference of OdB, was + 10 to +15bB more intense than that of the normal myocardium. 3) The study of the echo patterns in comparison with the histology of myocardium indicated that the echoes related to scar could be classified into 4 types: i) cord-like echo, ii) scattered large nodular echoes, iii) narrow band-like echo, and iv) scattered small nodular echoes. Types i), ii), and iii) indicated the formation of a transmural scar. Thus a possibility was suggested that histological characteristics of myocardial tissue could be estimated by a non-invasive method.