Determination of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging

• Published in: The American heart journal Vol. 113; no. 1; pp. 24 - 32
• Main Authors: Dilworth, Lee R., Aisen, Alex M., John Mancini, G.B., Lande, Ian, Buda, Andrew J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Mosby, Inc 1987; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Angiography; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiac Catheterization; Cardiac Volume; Cardiovascular system; Female; Heart Diseases - diagnosis; Heart Diseases - pathology; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry; Stroke Volume; Heart; Human; Volume; Cardiovascular disease; Hemodynamics; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Left ventricle; Ejection fraction
• ISSN: 0002-8703; 1097-6744
• DOI: 10.1016/0002-8703(87)90005-6

To determine the ability of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging to assess left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF), we studied 24 patients within 48 hours of single-plane LV angiography. In all patients, a transverse, single-plane NMR acquisition technique was employed with LV end-diastolic (ED) and end-systolic (ES) volumes (V) calculated by a modified area-length algorithm. In nine patients, a multialice acquisition technique was employed with LVEDV and LVESV calculated by a Simpson's rule algorithm. NMR-determined LVV and EF correlated reasonably well with angiographic values (LVEDV: r = 0.75; LVE8V: r = 0.90; and LVEF: r = 0.76). The singie-plane NMR technique significantly underestimated LVEDV ( p < 0.01), whereas no significant difference was demonstrated for LVESV. As a result, angiographic LVEF was significantly underestimated ( p < 0.05). This underestimation is likely related to off-axis imaging and to the geometric constraints of a single-plane algorithm. In comparing multislice NMR to angiographic data, no significant difference was demonstrated for LVEDV, LVESV, or LVEF. Thus, quantitation of LVV and EF with NMR is feasible, and comparison to angiographic volumes is similar to results reported from other noninvasive imaging modalities. Improvement in current acquisition techniques and software should result in further quantitative potential.