Does infarct tissue heterogeneity assessed by MRI correlate with increased ventricular irritability in patients with prior myocardial infarction and LV dysfunction?
Infarct tissue heterogeneity quantified by MRI correlates with increased ventricular irritability, suggesting it may identify patients at higher risk for ventricular arrhythmias post-MI.
Tissue heterogeneity is present and quantifiable within human infarcts. More extensive tissue heterogeneity correlates with increased ventricular irritability by programmed electrical stimulation. These findings support the hypothesis that anatomic tissue heterogeneity increases susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias in patients with prior myocardial infarction and LV dysfunction.
Schmidt et al. (2007) studied this question.