T2‐weighted cardiac MR assessment of the myocardial area‐at‐risk and salvage area in acute reperfused myocardial infarction: Comparison of state‐of‐the‐art dark blood and bright blood T2‐weighted sequences

PURPOSE: To compare different state-of-the-art T2-weighted (T2w) imaging sequences combined with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) for myocardial salvage area (MSA) assessment by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). T2w imaging has been used to assess the myocardial area at risk (AAR) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients, but its clinical application is challenging due to technical and physical limitations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients with reperfused AMI underwent complete CMR imaging 2-5 days after hospital admission. Myocardial AAR and MSA were quantified on four different T2w sequences: (a) free-breathing T2-prepared single-shot balanced steady-state free precession (T2pₛsbSSFP) ; (b) breathhold T2-weighted acquisition for cardiac unified T2 edema (ACUTE) ; (c) breathhold T2w dark-blood inversion recovery turbo-spin echo (IR-TSE) (short-term inversion recovery: STIR) ; and (d) free-breathing high-resolution T2 dark-blood navigated BLADE. The diagnostic performance of each technique was also assessed. RESULTS: Quantitative analysis showed significant differences in myocardial AAR extent as quantified by the four T2w sequences (P < 0. 05). There were also significant differences in sensitivity, specificity and overall diagnostic performance. CONCLUSION: Detection and quantification of AAR, and thus of MSA, by T2wCMR in reperfused AMI patients varied significantly between different T2w sequences in the same clinical setting.