Prediction of functional myocardial recovery post acute myocardial infarction should be based not only on flow patency of the infarct related artery (IRA) but also on the quality of microcirculation in at-risk segments. Myocardial blush grade (MBG) is a method of perfusion assessment which has an established value in prediction of both ventricular remodelling and prognosis. However, its invasive character encourages the search for other methods able to reflect myocardial recovery following

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... ssful reperfusion. Echocardiography is an imaging modality which has the potential to assess, noninvasively, myocardial perfusion and, quantitatively, the loss of contractile function. The aim of this study was to compare the values of myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE), MBG and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in the assessment of microcirculation in patients with first acute myocardial infarction of the anterior wall.