Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic MRI of the Human Heart

Rationale:Altered cardiac energetics is known to play an important role in the progression toward heart failure. A noninvasive method for imaging metabolic markers that could be used in longitudinal studies would be useful for understanding therapeutic approaches that target metabolism. Objective:To demonstrate the first hyperpolarized 13C metabolic magnetic resonance imaging of the human heart. Methods and Results:Four healthy subjects underwent conventional proton cardiac magnetic resonance imaging followed by 13C imaging and spectroscopic acquisition immediately after intravenous administration of a 0.1 mmol/kg dose of hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate. All subjects tolerated the procedure well with no adverse effects reported ≤1 month post procedure. The [1-13C]pyruvate signal appeared within the chambers but not within the muscle. Imaging of the downstream metabolites showed 13C-bicarbonate signal mainly confined to the left ventricular myocardium, whereas the [1-13C]lactate signal appeared both within ...