Preliminary experience in the use of ultrafast computed tomography to diagnose aortic valve stenosis

Eight patients, mean age 72 years, with aortic valve stenosis were studied by ultrafast CT 1 day after cardiac catheterization. After injection of radiographic contrast material through a peripheral vein, two contiguous eight-level R wave-triggered cine mode scans in the short axis were acquired, starting above the aortic valve and continuing through the apex of the left ventricle. Seven of eight patients, all with calcified aortic valves, had a detectable central orifice. Catheterization-derived aortic valve areas were within 0.25 cm2 of the CT valve areas in six of seven. LV mass was measured by ultrafast CT in the eight patients with aortic valve stenosis (121.6 +/- 18.2 gm/m2) and was found to be significantly higher (p less than 0.0001) than that in a group of eight subjects with normal LV function, no history of hypertension, and normal ECGs (73.0 +/- 13.1 gm/m2). It is concluded that in selected cases ultrafast CT can contribute to the assessment of severity of calcific aortic stenosis by measurement of LV mass and valve area.