Whole-heart steady-state free precession coronary artery magnetic resonance angiography

✍ Scribed by Oliver M. Weber; Alastair J. Martin; Charles B. Higgins

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 612 KB
• Volume: 50
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0740-3194
• DOI: 10.1002/mrm.10653

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Current implementations of coronary artery magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) suffer from limited coverage of the coronary arterial system. Whole‐heart coronary MRA was implemented based on a free‐breathing steady‐state free‐precession (SSFP) technique with magnetization preparation. The technique was compared to a similar implementation of conventional, thin‐slab coronary MRA in 12 normal volunteers. Three thin‐slab volumes were prescribed: 1) a transverse slab, covering the left main (LM) artery and proximal segments of the left anterior ascending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCX) coronary arteries; 2) a double‐oblique slab covering the right coronary artery (RCA); and 3) a double‐oblique slab covering the proximal and distal segments of the LCX. The whole‐heart data set was reformatted in identical orientations. Visible vessel length, vessel sharpness, and vessel diameter were determined and compared separately for each vessel. Whole‐heart coronary MRA visualized LM/LAD (11.7 ± 3.4 cm) and LCX (6.9 ± 3.6 cm) over a significantly longer distance than the transverse volume (LM/LAD, 6.1 ± 1.1 cm, P < 0.001; LCX, 4.2 ± 1.2 cm, P < 0.05). Improvements in visible vessel length for RCA and LCX in the whole‐heart approach vs. their respective targeted volumes were not significant. It is concluded that the whole‐heart coronary MRA technique improves visible vessel length and facilitates high‐quality coronary MRA of the complete coronary artery tree in a single measurement. Magn Reson Med 50:1223–1228, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.