A cute myocardial infarction

Abstract

Inflammatory processes after myocardial infarction have gained major interest in recent cardiovascular research. It is believed that not only the degree of cell recruitment to the heart plays a pivotal role in the quality of wound healing after myocardial infarction, but also the balance between different types or even subtypes of cells. It is also this balance which is thought to control key processes in tissue repair, such as apoptosis and neoangiogenesis. In this paper, we aim to review imaging strategies (with a special focus on nuclear molecular imaging strategies) that target cells and processes involved in postischemic inflammation and that have a high potential to be translated into clinic or that are already being used and evaluated in humans.