The primary purpose of this study is to correlate new cardiac imaging modalities (2D, 3D echocardiography, contrast echocardiography, strain analysis and cardiac MRI) to biochemical parameters as the L-arginine-nitric oxide pathway and inflammatory cascades to characterize the reperfusion injury following myocardial infarction and thus providing a basis for further diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

By reperfusion of ischemic myocardium further tissue damage occurs (ischemia / reperfusion injury). Various contributing mechanisms have been discussed in experimental studies, e.g. disturbances in coronary microcirculation and consecutive induction of inflammatory cascades involving formation of reactive oxygen species. The ischemia / reperfusion injury causes diastolic and regional as well as global systolic dysfunction. The time course of the reperfusion injury within the first hours after reperfusion and its effects on the global geometry of the left ventricle have not been investigated so far. In the present study a comprehensive morphological and functional characterisation of the ischemia / reperfusion injury in the acute phase is performed. New cardiac imaging modalities (2D, 3D echocardiography, contrast echocardiography, strain analysis and cardiac MRI)and biochemical parameters including the L-arginine-nitric oxide pathway and inflammatory cascades are applied. Hereby morphological and biochemical markers for the functional recovery of myocardial function should be identified.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction and consecutive percutaneous coronary intervention of the infarct-related artery (first myocardial infarction and recurrent myocardial infarction, as long as infarct-related artery is occluded for the first time)
• written informed consent

or 30 patients with stable CAD (control group 1) or 30 healthy volunteers regarding cardiovascular diseases (control group 2)

Exclusion Criteria:

• minors
• incompetent persons
• pregnant and lactating
• moderate to severe renal insufficiency defined by an GFR < 60 ml/kg/m2
• missing written consent
• other reasons complicating a clinical reevaluation and/or coronary angiography

• patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction and consecutive percutaneous coronary intervention of the infarct-related artery (first myocardial infarction and recurrent myocardial infarction, as long as infarct-related artery is occluded for the first time)
• written informed consent

or 30 patients with stable CAD (control group 1) or 30 healthy volunteers regarding cardiovascular diseases (control group 2)