Abstract #1189

Wang J, Jackson M, Deslauriers R, Tian G, Li G, Gruwel M, Xiang B, Liu H, Deng J

The present study was to assess distribution characteristics of extracellular and blood-pool contrast agents in acutely-infarcted myocardium. Gd-DTPA and Vistarem were chosen as a representative for the extracellular and blood-pool contrast agent, respectively. It was found that Gd-DTPA rapidly entered infarct and normal myocardium and reached its maximum distribution coefficient in the two regions in a short period. In contrast, Vistarem entered infarct and normal myocardium with much slower rates. It took more than 10 minutes for Vistarem to show different distribution coefficients between the two regions. The results suggest that both types of contrast agents could differentiate viable from nonviable myocardium. However, it requires a longer period for a blood-pool contrast agent to reach its maximum distribution co-efficient.