Abstract
BackgroundOver the last 25 years, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has emerged as an alternative to echocardiography for assessment of valvular heart disease (VHD). Although echo remains the first-line imaging modality for the assessment of patients with VHD, CMR can now provide a comprehensive assessment in many instances. Using a combination of techniques, CMR provides information on valve anatomy and enables quantitative analysis of the severity of the valve lesion.Main textIn this review, the fundamentals of CMR in assessment of VHD are described, together with its strengths and weaknesses. We detail the utility of CMR for studying all aspects of VHD, including valve anatomy, flow quantification as well as ventricular volumes and function. The optimisation of CMR for evaluating the commonest valve lesions (aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, mitral regurgitation, mitral stenosis) as well as in right-sided VHD and prosthetic valves is summarised. The focus of this review is to enable the reader to optimise the use of CMR in his or her own evaluation of heart valve lesions in clinical practice.ConclusionsCMR can be used for the comprehensive evaluation of VHD. This exciting, non-invasive imaging modality is likely to have increasing utility in the clinical evaluation of patients with VHD.
Highlights
In this review, the fundamentals of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in assessment of valvular heart disease (VHD) are described, together with its strengths and weaknesses
CMR can be used for the comprehensive evaluation of VHD
Flow steady-state free precession (SSFP) and gradient echo cine images provide visualisation of turbulent flow jets across stenosed or regurgitant valves. These are seen as signal voids and occur due to spin-dephasing in moving protons
Summary
The fundamentals of CMR in assessment of VHD are described, together with its strengths and weaknesses. We detail the utility of CMR for studying all aspects of VHD, including valve anatomy, flow quantification as well as ventricular volumes and function. The optimisation of CMR for evaluating the commonest valve lesions (aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, mitral regurgitation, mitral stenosis) as well as in right-sided VHD and prosthetic valves is summarised. The focus of this review is to enable the reader to optimise the use of CMR in his or her own evaluation of heart valve lesions in clinical practice
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