Magnetic resonance coronary angiography

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Medical Physics

Background:

• Noninvasive tests for inducible myocardial ischemia have limitations.
• Conventional contrast angiography reveals no significant coronary stenoses in 20% of cases.
• Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is well-suited for cardiac evaluation, assessing chamber size, function, and valvular insufficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the potential of advanced MR imaging techniques for visualizing native coronary arteries.
• To assess the feasibility of MR imaging for quantifying coronary blood flow and vessel patency.
• To explore MR imaging's role in comprehensive cardiac evaluation for suspected coronary artery disease.

Main Methods:

• Utilized conventional spin-echo and gradient-echo techniques for coronary artery bypass graft assessment.
• Employed new "fast imaging" breath-hold techniques, including k-space segmentation and spiral imaging.
• Investigated echo planar MR coronary angiography feasibility.

Main Results:

• Conventional MR techniques were limited by motion artifacts, hindering native coronary vessel visualization.
• Fast imaging techniques demonstrated promise in visualizing native coronary arteries.
• Assessing vessel patency and quantifying coronary blood flow using new MR techniques showed potential.

Conclusions:

• Despite current limitations, advancements in fast imaging MR techniques are improving coronary artery visualization.
• MR imaging may become the premier cardiac imaging modality, offering comprehensive evaluation for coronary artery disease.
• Future software and hardware improvements are expected to enhance MR's capabilities for noninvasive cardiac assessment.