Cine magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a new, rapid MR pulse sequence that acquires up to 32 images per cardiac cycle at up to four levels of the heart within 4 minutes. In this study, the whole heart was encompassed by contiguous 10-mm transverse sections. Ventricular volumes were calculated by adding luminal areas determined in each section at end-diastole and end-systole. The left ventricular volume index was 57 ml/m2 +/- 9 at end-diastole and 17 ml/m2 +/- 4 at end-systole. The right ventricular volume index was 63 ml/m2 +/- 9 at end-diastole and 22 ml/m2 +/- 6 at end-systole. The left to right ventricular stroke volume ratio was 0.97 +/- 0.06, which was not statistically different from the theoretically expected ratio of 1. Interobserver and intraobserver measurements were closely correlated. Volume measurements were validated with two-dimensional echocardiography in five volunteers. Cine MR imaging allows reproducible three-dimensional measurement of right and left ventricular volumes with short imaging time and good temporal resolution.

Background. Although progressive chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with elevated systemic vascular resistance and increased impedance to ventricular outflow, the contribution of changes in large artery function has not been well documented in humans.Methods and Results. We studied 45 patients with a broad range of clinical severity of CHF and compared noninvasive measurements of brachial artery diameter, flow, and pulse wave velocity with 22 normal controls of similar age. In CHF, mean arterial pressure was lower than in

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This study was undertaken to assess the ability of proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 587-594, 1985. ENTHUSIASM for limiting the extent of myocardial necrosis associated with acute myocardial infarction has heightened in recent years with the appreciation that patient prognosis is to a large part dependent on the amount of myocardial destruction.1 It has been shown that reperfusion of ischemic myocardium early in the course of infarction is feasible, whether by intracoronary or intravenous streptokinase, transluminal coronary angioplasty, or by immediate surgical revascularization. Drugs such as fl-blockers and nitrates have also been used early in the course of myocardial infarction in an attempt to limit infarct size.'2 3 Whether these interventions do indeed salvage reversibly ischemic myocardium is currently a subject of extensive interest and investigation.'To demonstrate benefit from such interventions, it is necessary to employ a technique whereby myocardium at risk can be identified at a very early stage and infarct size can be accurately and reproducibly quantified. Creatine kinase analysis, multilead electrocardiog-

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