Serial magnetic resonance imaging of global and regional left ventricular remodeling during 1 year after acute myocardial infarction

Biplane long-axis cine MRI was performed in 51 patients 1, 13, 26, and 52 weeks after their first AMI. LV mass index (LVMI) was significantly increased 1 week after AMI (84.3 +/- 16.9 vs. 68.1 +/- 11.4 g/m(2) controls, n = 48, p < 0.001), presumably owing to edema of the infarcted myocardium. Six months after AMI, LVMI decreased to 76.5 +/- 16.4 g/m(2), but had again augmented after 1 year (81.8 +/- 17.3 g/m(2), p < 0.05), suggesting late, compensatory left ventricular hypertrophy. In patients treated with primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, LVMI decreased 5% over 1 year, while LVMI increased 10 % in patients receiving thrombolysis (p < 0.05). In the entire population, the global increase in LVMI 1 year after AMI seemed to reflect global cavity dilatation with unchanged thickness of the vital myocardium. In conclusion, in patients receiving contemporary treatment, LV remodeling only partially complied with the classical patho-anatomical concept. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.