Phosphorus (31P) NMR spectra showing the relative concentrations of phosphocreatine, ATP, and Pi were recorded noninvasively from localized regions in the left ventricles of dog hearts in situ by using depth-resolved surfacecoil spectroscopy at 1.5 T. Proton (1H) NMR surface-coil imaging was used to position 31P NMR coils and to determine the location of depth-resolved volumes immediately prior to 31P examination. Occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery produced regional ischemia detected as changes in the ratios of phosphocreatine, ATP, and Pi and by changes in the pH measured from the spectra. Spectral changes were not typically observed in regions adjacent to ischemic myocardium. Reperfusion produced some recovery, and ventricular fibrillation resulted in deterioration in high-energy metabolites. The location and size of ischemic tissue was measured by singlephoton-emission computed tomography (SPECT) and gammaray counting or by staining excised hearts. The technique should permit the long-term noninvasive monitoring of the metabolic response of the heart to pathologic processes and allow assessment of interventions. NMR spectrum is a profile of the relative concentrations of the high-energy phosphate metabolites phosphocreatine (PCr) and ATP as well as inorganic phosphate, Pi (1-6). Such spectra are responsive to changes in myocardial metabolism as early as 90 s after the onset of ischemia (3). To date, applications of 31P NMR spectroscopy to heart metabolism have proved invasive because of (i) the difficulty of achieving adequate spatial localization of the 31p signal to the heart, and (ii) the small magnet apertures of available