Quantitative assessment of myocardial enhancement with iodinated contrast medium in patients with ischemic heart disease by using ultrafast X-ray computed tomography

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE The authors report the quantitation of myocardial enhancement using iodinated contrast medium in patients with ischemic heart disease. Twenty-eight patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and 11 controls were examined by ultrafast computed tomography (CT) using 100-msecond scans. METHODS The authors analyzed M/L (ratio of post-contrast incremental increases in the left ventricular myocardial and luminal CT number) in early and late phases after contrast injection. RESULTS In controls, mean values of early and late M/L were 30% and 51%, respectively. In infarcted or severly ischemic segments, early M/Ls (19%, 16%) were significantly small (P < .001), whereas late M/Ls (90%, 63%) were higher (P < .001, .01) than controls. Segments with infarction or severe ischemia were differentiated from mild or nonsignificant ischemia by using this parameter (sensitivity, 99%; specificity, 88%).