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Researchers at the MRC Clinical sciences Centre at Imperial College London have taken images of post heart attack bleeding into the heart muscle using MRI, according to a news release from the MRC.

•    The study was published in the January 2009 edition of the ‘Radiology’ journal.

•    The study was conducted at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College London and funded by the medical research Council, The British Heart Foundation and the Department of Health, UK.

•    Purpose of the study:  To assess the feasibility of multiecho T2* mapping of the heart for detecting reperfusion hemorrhage following percutaneous primary coronary intervention (PPCI) for acute myocardial infarction, and to measure the effect of hemorrhage on quantifying the ischemic area at risk (IAR) on T2-weighted magnetic resonance image.

•    15 patients(mean age 59years , 13men and 2 women) from the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust were included in the study.

•    They were imaged using MRI a mean 3.2 days following PPCI. The MRI detected the areas of reperfusion haemorrhage from the iron present in the blood vessels, the researchers said.

•    The study concluded that T2 weighted MRI can be used to quantify post-reperfusion haemorrhage and boundary detection is required to measure the IAR.

Signifiance of the study:

During a myocardial infarction, a coronary artery or its branch is blocked by a plaque and the area of the heart suppled by the artery distal to the block becomes ischaemic. Following PPCI , the blood supply is restored but it may result in bleeding to the cardiac muscle as part of re-perfusion injury.

The degree of haemorrhage is directly proportional to the area of myocardium damaged. The researchers said that MRI could predict the prognosis of the patient .

Dr. Declan said, “Our study gives us a new insight into the damage that heart attacks can cause. Using this new scanning technique shows us that patients who develop bleeding inside their damaged heart muscle have a much poorer chance of recovery.”

Dr. Stuart Cook, who also participated in the study, said that the more doctors interpret what occurs during and after a coronary failure, the more likely it is new ways will be found to defy the damage

Source: MRC Medical Sciences Centre
‘Radiology’ (Journal)