Echocardiographic-like angled views of the heart by MR imaging

Cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has developed rapidly to rival echocardiography as a noninvasive imaging modality. Anatomic detail may exceed that currently available using echocardiography techniques, and the ability to image moving protons may compete with Doppler color flow mapping in detecting valvular diseases and shunts. Because of the considerable clinical experience with echocardiography, as angled MR imaging planes become available as standard software packages, it may be useful for MR cardiac imaging to use standard, accepted echocardiographic nomenclature and imaging planes. This article describes the principles used to obtain long and short axis MR images that are comparable with echocardiographic imaging planes. Diagrams and illustrations are provided to orient the viewer using nomenclature common to echocardiography. These views may eventually be useful for functional analysis of the left ventricle and for detection and evaluation of valvular heart disease and intracardiac shunts.