title: Cardiac magnetic resonance 'virtual catheterization' for the quantification of valvular regurgitations and cardiac shunt.
abstract: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is considered the gold-standard noninvasive technique for the quantification of ventricular volumes by cine-imaging and of vascular flows by velocity-encoded phase contrast (VENC). In routine CMR scans, it is common to found clinical conditions, as valve regurgitations and cardiac shunts, producing a volume overload and significant mismatch between the right and left ventricular stroke volumes (RSV and LSV). In the presence of a valve regurgitation, the volume overload involves the respective ventricular chamber, whereas in cardiac shunts, the location of the volume overload depends on the site of the anatomic defect. Moreover, when a cardiac shunt is present, pulmonary and systemic cardiac outputs are different (Qp/Qs < 1 or Qp/Qs > 1), whereas in the presence of valve regurgitation, Qp/Qs = 1. Therefore, by combining the cine-imaging with the VENC technique, it is possible to investigate the cardiac physiology underlying different pathological conditions producing volume overload, and to quantify this overload (the regurgitant volume and/or shunt volume). In this report, we discussed the technical, theoretical and methodological aspects of this sort of 'virtual catheterization' by CMR, providing a simple algorithm to make the correct diagnosis.
authors: aFondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, Pisa and Massa bMultimodality Cardiac Imaging Section, San Donato, Milan cDipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Strumentale, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors: Giovanni Donato
authors: GD
authors: Aquaro
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Barison
authors: Giancarlo
authors: G
authors: Todiere
authors: Pierluigi
authors: P
authors: Festa
authors: Lamia
authors: L
authors: Ait-Ali
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Lombardi
authors: Gianluca
authors: G
authors: Di Bella
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000379:methods*; D004374:Ductus Arteriosus, Patent / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011667:Pulmonary Veins / Q000002:abnormalities*; D013318:Stroke Volume; D016278:Ventricular Function, Right