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Updated: May 6, 2026
In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography
Published on: February 16, 2016
Cardiac intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging to assess myocardial microcirculation dysfunction in
Lei Zhao1, Haipeng Wang2, Duwang Qiu1
1Department of Radiology, Ji'nan Zhangqiu District People's Hospital, Jinan, China.
Insights
Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) can assess hypertension-related myocardial microcirculation dysfunction. The pseudo-diffusion (D*) parameter shows potential for evaluating dysfunction severity across different blood pressure categories.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
- Radiology
Background:
- Myocardial microcirculation dysfunction is a key predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in hypertension.
- Assessing this dysfunction is crucial for managing hypertensive patients.
- Current methods may not fully capture microcirculatory changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To apply intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) for assessing hypertension-related myocardial microcirculation dysfunction.
- To evaluate the feasibility and potential of IVIM-DWI parameters in hypertensive individuals.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study involving 102 participants (62 with hypertension, 27 healthy controls) using 3T cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).
- Hypertensive patients were subgrouped by blood pressure (BP) types.
- IVIM-DWI parameters and cardiac function indexes were compared between groups; intra- and inter-observer reproducibility was assessed using Bland-Altman analysis.
Main Results:
- Hypertensive patients showed significantly higher left ventricular wall thickness and mass index compared to controls.
- Significant differences in pseudo-diffusion (D*) were found between hypertensive and healthy groups, and across hypertension subgroups.
- Higher heart rates were noted in participants with poor IVIM-DWI image quality.
Conclusions:
- IVIM-DWI is a feasible technique for quantitatively evaluating myocardial microcirculation dysfunction in hypertension.
- The D* parameter demonstrates potential for assessing the severity of microcirculation dysfunction in different BP categories.
Background:
Myocardial microcirculation dysfunction is the most potent predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in hypertension. The current study aimed to apply intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) to assess hypertension-related microcirculation dysfunction.
Methods:
In this prospective study, 102 participants were recruited from our hospital and underwent cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) examination on a 3T scanning system. Hypertensive patients were divided into 3 subgroups based on blood pressure (BP) types. Two experienced CMR radiologists independently analyzed all images, and Bland-Altman analysis was applied to assess intra- and inter-observer reproducibility. Cardiac function indexes and IVIM-DWI parameters were compared between the hypertension and healthy control groups, as well as among the three hypertension subgroups.
Results:
Totally 62 participants with hypertension and 27 healthy controls were included. 13 participants were excluded for poor quality of IVIM-DWI images. Significantly higher maximal left ventricular wall thickness (10.3±2.0 vs. 8.6±1.4 mm, P<0.001) and left ventricular mass index (49.0±9.1 vs. 42.1±7.5 g/m2, P<0.05) were observed inhypertension group compared with healthy control group. There were significant statistical differences in pseudo diffusion (D*) between them (81.3±16.3 vs. 111.8±18.9 mm2/s, P<0.001), as well as among the three hypertension subgroups (99.4±13.9 vs. 79.7±10.6 vs. 67.1±6.6 mm2/s, P<0.001). Participants with poor quality of IVIM-DWI images had higher heart rates (72.2±10.0 vs. 62.0±8.1 bpm, P<0.001).
Conclusions:
IVIM-DWI is feasible for quantitatively evaluating myocardial microcirculation dysfunction in hypertension. The D* parameter has a potential value for assessing the severity of microcirculation dysfunction in different BP categories.
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