Diffusion-weighted echo planar imaging in patients with recent myocardial infarction

To evaluate a diffusion-weighted (DW) black blood MR sequence for the detection of myocardium signal abnormalities in patients with recent myocardial infarction (MI). A DW black blood EPI sequence was acquired at 1.5 T in 12 patients with recent MI. One slice per patient was acquired with b = 0 and b = 50 s/mm(2). A standard short tau inversion recovery (STIR) T2-weighted sequence was acquired at the same level. Viability was assessed with delayed-enhancement sequences. Images were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. A non parametric Wilcoxon test was used for statistical analysis, with a significance level of P < .05. The mean quality of blood suppression was higher on DW EPI images than on STIR T2-weighted images (3.9 +/- 0.3 and 3.0 +/- 0.7, respectively; P = 0.01). Myocardial high signal areas were detected in respectively 100% (12/12) and 67% (8/12) of the patients on DW EPI and STIR T2-weighted images. The four patients (33%) with false-negative STIR T2 findings all had high signal areas on DW EPI images corresponding to the location of the MI on the delayed-enhanced images. DW EPI sequences are a feasible alternative to standard STIR T2-weighted sequences for detecting myocardium high signal areas in patients with recent MI.