MRI and MSCT for the Assessment of Myocardial Function and Viability

textabstractMRI is a versatile non-invasive imaging modality that can be applied in patients and in experimental models of ischemic heart disease. MRI allows refined assessment of regional and global left ventricular function and volumes, offers detailed information on myocardial perfusion and permits precise assessment of acute and chronic myocardial infarct size. In this thesis, the unique imaging capabilities of MRI are used in the setting of acute and chronic ischemic heart disease. We use MRI to monitor novel treatment strategies, to study pathophysiological mechanisms of ischemic heart disease and to evaluate the utility of MRI in the clinical setting. Furthermore, MRI based assessment of infarct size serves as an in-vivo standard of reference for MSCT, that is proposed as an alternative imaging modality to assess myocardial viability. In this thesis, we perform MRI and MSCT in experimental models of acute ischemic heart disease and in patients with acute and chronic ischemic heart disease