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Ischemia and Infarction in the Isolated Rabbit Heart: A Model for the Evaluation of Myocardial Imaging Agents

The New York Hospital—Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York

Correspondence: For reprints contact: Daniel R. Alonso, MD, Dept. of Pathology, Cornell Univ. Medical College, 1300 York Ave., New York, NY 10021.

ABSTRACT

An isolated-heart preparation has been adapted to permit rapid evaluation of, and imaging by, myocardial tracers. The rabbit heart provided a mass large enough for imaging and serial biopsies. Coronary arteries could be selectively ligated and provided landmarks for epicardial ST segment mapping. Uptake ratios between a tissue sample and normal myocardium (T/N), obtained using Tc-99m glucoheptonate as an infarct-seeker, increased with duration of the ischemic period, which was followed by reflow. After 25 min of occlusion the T/N was 4.5; after 40 min T/N = 6; after 60 min T/N = 8; and after 120 min T/N = 19.

This well-controlled adjunct to in vivo studies allows evaluation of myocardial imaging agents without interfering with systemic effects or blood and tissue background. Functional and structural changes can be sequentially measured and correlated with the localization of various radiopharmaceuticals.