Comparison of ultrafast dipyridamole magnetic resonance imaging with dipyridamole SestaMIBI SPECT for detection of perfusion abnormalities in patients with one-vessel coronary artery disease: Assessment by quantitative model fitting

The value of ultrafast MRI for detection of myocardial perfusion abnormalities in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) was assessed in 10 patients with stable angina pectoris and angiographically proven one-vessel CAD using double-level short-axis ultrafast MRI with bolus injection of gadolinium-DTPA and tomographic technetium-99m SestaMIBI imaging (SPECT) during dipyridamole-induced coronary hyperemia. Abnormally perfused regions were assessed with SPECT and MRI in all (100%) patients. Agreement in localization between arteriography and SPECT was 80%; between arteriography and MR, 70%; and between SPECT and MR, 90%. The signal intensity increase after the bolus injection of gadolinium-DTPA using a linear fit, and the slope of gadolinium-DTPA wash-in using double exponential model fitting were significantly different between abnormally and normally perfused regions. These preliminary results demonstrate the potential of dipyridamole ultrafast MR to monitor stress-induced flow maldistribution in patients with single vessel CAD.