Phosphate metabolite imaging and concentration measurements in human heart by nuclear magnetic resonance

Cardiac‐gated phosphorus (³¹P) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic imaging with surface coils resolves in three dimensions the spatial distribution of high energy phosphate metabolites in the human heart noninvasively. ³¹P spectra derive from 6‐ to 14‐cm³ volumes of myocardium in the anterior left ventricle, septum, and apex, at depths of up to about 8 cm from the chest, as identified by proton (¹H) NMR anatomical images acquired without moving the subject. Spectroscopic images are acquired in 9 to 21 min at 1.5 T. Metabolite concentrations are quantified with reference to a standard located outside the chest, yielding normal in vivo concentrations of phosphocreatine and adenosine triphosphate of about 11.0 ± 2.7 (SD) and 6.9 ± 1.6 μmol/g of wet heart tissue, respectively. High energy phosphate contents did not vary significantly with location in the normal myocardium, but 2,3‐diphosphoglycerate signals from blood varied with Subject and location. © 1990 Academic Press, Inc.