Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies of Bioenergetics in Normal and Abnormal Myocardium

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on (1) the mechanisms of respiratory regulation and the kinetic characteristics of high-energy phosphate (HEP) generation in in vitro and in vivo models; (2) the effects of myocardial abnormalities on regulation and kinetics; (3) the transmural heterogeneity of perfusion, contractile, and metabolic responses of in vivo myocardium and the interactions between altered perfusion patterns and HEP metabolism; and (4) applications of NMR techniques to the study of the human heart. The perfused rat heart studies have yielded invaluable information with regard to the mechanisms of respiratory regulation and the kinetic characteristics of H+ ATPase in intact myocardium. At present, spectroscopic studies of human myocardium are relatively few in number, they generally involve small numbers of patients, and they are complicated by technical limitations. Thus the utility of NMR spectroscopy as a cardiac diagnostic tool is at present limited.