Cor Vasa 2003, 44(1):33-40
Myocardial contrast echocardiography
- 1 Klinika kardiologie, Fakultní nemocnice Královské Vinohrady a 3. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy, Praha
- 2 I. interní kardio-angiologická klinika, Fakultní nemocnice u sv. Anny, Brno, Česká republika
- 3 Deutsches Herzzentrum, Technische Universität, Mnichov, Německo
Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) is a non-radioactive bedside imaging method using microbubble contrast agents and having the ability to assess microvascular perfusion of the myocardium. Formerly, the contrast agents had to be administered directly into the coronary artery. Recent developments in microbubble technology and ultrasound imaging techniques have enabled peripheral intravenous contrast agent administration, making MCE a noninvasive method.
This article reviews recent advances in microbubble technology and ultrasound imaging and, also, describes the basic principles of the techniques. Further, our aim is to describe the possible clinical applications of MCE as already demonstrated in numerous experiments and clinical studies. MCE can be used to assess the risk area and infarct size in acute coronary syndromes, as well as to delineate reperfusion zones. It can also be used to establish the presence of collaterals, to predict myocardial viability and, thus, its functional recovery after revascularization, to evaluate the significance of coronary artery stenosis, and to assess the efficacy of drug therapy for microvascular damage.
Keywords: Echocardiography; Myocardial perfusion; Contrast agent; Microbubble; Coronary microcirculation; Coronary artery disease
Published: January 1, 2003 Show citation