CT ANALYSIS OF MYOCARDIAL MICROCIRCULATORY FUNCTION

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In the next year we'll continue to use the Electron Beam CT scanner to estimate myocardial perfusion and blood volume. We will study pigs after ten weeks of a diet high in cholesterol so as to simulate early atherosclerosis. Such feeding has been shown to result in altered endothelial function and increased angiogenesis of the myocardial microcirculation so we hope to be able to detect and quantitate these changes via the altered heterogeneity and blood flow-to-volume relationship of the myocardial perfusion distribution. We will also use our recently developed double gamma-variate model of myocardial contrast distribution to evaluate altered microcirculatory permeability, may also change in early atherosclerosis.