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Technology Insight: MRI of the myocardium

Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine volume 2, pages 597–605 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

MRI is emerging as the method of choice for the evaluation of a wide variety of cardiovascular disorders. A major advantage of this technique over the other cardiac imaging modalities is the fact that it allows the operator—via special software programs called pulse sequences—to probe a vast array of biological properties while using the same machine. In this review, we provide the reader with a brief overview of the pulse sequence concept and how it enables MRI practitioners to pursue a multifaceted approach to evaluating the myocardium. We discuss how MRI technology makes this imaging method ideally suited to the assessment of cardiac morphology, contractile function, myocardial perfusion and infarction. In addition, we present clinical scenarios in which the performance of multifaceted imaging by MRI can alter clinical decision making.

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Figure 1: Components of MRI pulse sequences.
Figure 2: Typical images produced by use of different pulse sequences.
Figure 3: Image results for different MRI probes used to visualize specific biological properties.
Figure 4: Typical study of ventricular function by MRI.
Figure 5: Examples of stress perfusion imaging during adenosine infusion, cine imaging, and delayed-enhancement imaging in two patients.
Figure 6: Representations of hyperenhancement patterns characteristic of ischemic and nonischemic disorders.

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Acknowledgements

RJ Kim and RM Judd were supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Director of the Nashville Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Institute, The Heart Group, PLLC, Brentwood, TN, USA

    Dipan J Shah

  2. Co-Directors of the Duke Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Robert M Judd & Raymond J Kim

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Correspondence to Raymond J Kim.

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Raymond J Kim and Robert M Judd are inventors of a patent on delayed-enhancement imaging, which is owned by Northwester University, Chicago, IL, USA

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Shah, D., Judd, R. & Kim, R. Technology Insight: MRI of the myocardium. Nat Rev Cardiol 2, 597–605 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpcardio0352

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