After administration of gadolinium, infarcted myocardium exhibits delayed hyperenhancement and can be imaged using an inversion recovery (IR) sequence. The performance of such a method when using magnitude‐reconstructed images is highly sensitive to the inversion recovery time (TI) selected. Using phase‐sensitive reconstruction, it is possible to use a nominal value of TI, eliminate several breath‐holds otherwise needed to find the precise null time for normal myocardium, and achieve a consistent contrast. Phase‐sensitive detection is used to remove the background phase while preserving the sign of the desired magnetization during IR. Experimental results are presented which demonstrate the benefits of both phase‐sensitive IR image reconstruction and surface coil intensity normalization for detecting myocardial infarction (MI). The phase‐sensitive reconstruction method reduces the variation in apparent infarct size that is observed in the magnitude images as TI is changed. Phase‐sensitive detection also has the advantage of decreasing the sensitivity to changes in tissue T₁ with increasing delay from contrast agent injection. Magn Reson Med 47:372–383, 2002. Published 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.