ASSESSMENT OF CORONARY-ARTERY PATENCY WITH CINE COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY IN A DOG-MODEL OF OCCLUSION-REPERFUSION

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. Determination of coronary artery patency may have therapeutic and prognostic significance particularly in the setting of acute myocardial infarction. Previous studies with cine computed tomography have demonstrated remarkable accuracy in the determination of coronary artery bypass graft patency. Recent improvements in resolution capability have afforded the potential for determination of native coronary artery patency. The accuracy of coronary artery patency determined by cine computed tomography is investigated in an animal model of coronary occlusion-reperfusion. METHODS. Seven anesthetized dogs were studied during control, coronary occlusion, and reperfusion conditions. Cine computed tomography was performed using electrocardiogram-triggered serial scans after intravenous injection of contrast medium. Coronary patency was determined by dye appearance in the epicardial artery coincident with its appearance in the left ventricular cavity. RESULTS. Patency was determined for the left anterior descending and left coronary arteries during three separate conditions in each dog, for a total of 42 patency determinations, and yielded the correct result in all cases. CONCLUSION. High-resolution cine computed tomography scanning can provide accurate determinations of coronary artery patency in an experimental model of occlusion-reperfusion.