Cardiac-synchronized gadolinium-enhanced MR angiography: preliminary experience for the evaluation of the thoracic aorta.
Gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced three-dimensional breath-hold magnetic resonance cardiac-synchronized angiography was performed in 13 patients suspected or known to have thoracic aortic disease. High-quality angiograms of the ascending/descending thoracic aorta and coronary arteries were obtained with this method. MR angiograms were compared with Gd-enhanced angiograms obtained without cardiac synchronization. Synchronized imaging showed significantly better aortic valve leaflet and proximal coronary artery depiction. Synchronization reduced motion artifacts, allowing better visualization of the aortic root and proximal coronary arteries.
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University Hospital Nijmegen, Nijmegen 6564BM, Netherlands. james.goldfarb@chsli.org
James W
JW
Goldfarb
Agnes E
AE
Holland
Frans M J
FM
Heijstraten
Stefan
S
Skotnicki
Jelle O
JO
Barentsz
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000473:pathology*; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D016477:Artifacts; D003287:Contrast Media; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA