Cardiac magnetic resonance detection and typical appearance of microvascular obstruction following myocardial infarction.

We report the case of a 58-year-old man with a recent anterior myocardial infarction, for which he did not receive prompt reperfusion therapy. The patient underwent cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, for the assessment of left ventricular function and myocardial viability, and coronary angiography, two weeks after the acute cardiac event. The CMR study demonstrated a moderately dilated left ventricle, with impaired systolic function and wall motion abnormalities in the anterior, apical and inferior left ventricular walls.