Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 2, 2025
Echocardiographic Assessment of Cardiac Anatomy and Function in Adult Rats
Published on: December 13, 2019
Four-dimensional flow cardiac magnetic resonance assessment of left ventricular diastolic function
Zakariye Ashkir1, Saul Myerson1, Stefan Neubauer1
1Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research (OCMR), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Insights
Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is challenging to assess. Time-resolved 4D flow CMR offers advanced insights into complex blood flow and ventricular function for improved diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
- Physiology
Background:
- Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is a primary cause of heart failure with significant morbidity.
- Current imaging modalities like echocardiography and conventional cardiac magnetic resonance have limitations in assessing complex diastolic hemodynamics.
- Accurate assessment of diastolic function is crucial for timely diagnosis and management of heart failure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the application of time-resolved 3D phase contrast cardiac magnetic resonance (4D flow CMR) in evaluating left ventricular diastolic function.
- To explore novel hemodynamic and functional parameters derived from 4D flow CMR for diastolic function assessment.
- To consolidate evidence on the strengths and limitations of 4D flow CMR in diagnosing and monitoring left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing time-resolved three-dimensional phase contrast cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (4D flow CMR) with three-directional velocity encoding.
- Retrospective analysis of velocity and flow at any point within the acquired 3D data volume.
- Flow pattern analysis to visualize blood flow components, vortices, and quantify hemodynamic parameters.
Main Results:
- 4D flow CMR enables comprehensive study of blood flow and ventricular function throughout the cardiac cycle.
- It allows visualization of flow patterns and quantification of parameters like kinetic energy, relative pressure, energy loss, and vorticity.
- Novel markers of diastolic function can be derived from detailed flow pattern analysis.
Conclusions:
- 4D flow CMR represents an emerging technology with the potential to overcome limitations of conventional methods for assessing diastolic function.
- It provides advanced insights into complex diastolic hemodynamics, aiding in the diagnosis and surveillance of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.
- Further research is needed to fully establish the clinical utility and standardization of 4D flow CMR techniques in this field.
Abstract:
Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is a major cause of heart failure and carries a poor prognosis. Assessment of left ventricular diastolic function however remains challenging for both echocardiography and conventional phase contrast cardiac magnetic resonance. Amongst other limitations, both are restricted to measuring velocity in a single direction or plane, thereby compromising their ability to capture complex diastolic hemodynamics in health and disease. Time-resolved three-dimensional phase contrast cardiac magnetic resonance imaging with three-directional velocity encoding known as '4D flow CMR' is an emerging technology which allows retrospective measurement of velocity and by extension flow at any point in the acquired 3D data volume. With 4D flow CMR, complex aspects of blood flow and ventricular function can be studied throughout the cardiac cycle. 4D flow CMR can facilitate the visualization of functional blood flow components and flow vortices as well as the quantification of novel hemodynamic and functional parameters such as kinetic energy, relative pressure, energy loss and vorticity. In this review, we examine key concepts and novel markers of diastolic function obtained by flow pattern analysis using 4D flow CMR. We consolidate the existing evidence base to highlight the strengths and limitations of 4D flow CMR techniques in the surveillance and diagnosis of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.
More Related Videos
11:04Quantification of Global Diastolic Function by Kinematic Modeling-based Analysis of Transmitral Flow via the Parametrized Diastolic Filling Formalism
Published on: September 1, 2014
11:16In vitro Assessment of Aortic Regurgitation Using Four-Dimensional Flow Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: February 25, 2022
