Global myocardial blood flow and global flow reserve measurements by MRI and PET are comparable

Coronary flow reserve (CFR) measurements have been widely used in assessing the functional significance of coronary artery stenosis because they are more sensitive in predicting major cardiac events than angiographically detected reductions of coronary arteries. Myocardial blood flow can be determined by measuring coronary sinus (CS) flow with velocity-encoded cine magnetic resonance imaging (VEC-MRI). The purpose of this study was to compare global myocardial blood flow (MBF) and CFR measured using VEC-MRI with MBF and CFR measured using positron emission tomography (PET). We measured MBF at baseline and after dipyridamole-induced hyperemia in 12 male volunteers with VEC-MRI and PET. With VEC-MRI, MBF was 0.64 +/- 0.09 (ml/min/g) at baseline and 1.59 +/- 0.79 (ml/min/g) at hyperemia, which yielded an average CFR of 2.51 +/- 1.29. With PET, MBF was 0.65 +/- 0.20 (ml/min/g) at baseline and 1.78 +/- 0.72 (ml/min/g) at hyperemia, which yielded an average CFR of 2.79 +/- 0.97. The correlation of MBFs between these two methods was good (r = 0.82, P < 0.001). The CFRs measured by MRI correlated well with those measured using PET (r = 0.76, P < 0.004). These results suggest that MRI is a useful and accurate method to measure global MBF and CFR. Therefore, it would be suitable for studying risk factor modifications of vascular function at an early stage in healthy volunteers.