ASSESSMENT OF AORTIC REGURGITATION SEVERITY BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING OF THE THORACIC AORTA

A new method of assessing the severity of aortic regurgitation severit y by magnetic resonance imaging has been developed. live groups were s tudied: 20 controls (age=58 +/- 19 years), without valvular aortic dis ease, and 24 patients (age=62+/-13 years) with chronic aortic insuffic iency evaluated by magnetic resonance and nor tic root cineangiography within 1 week of each other. A magnetic resonance sequence (TR=35 ms/ TE=12 ms/flip angle=20 degrees/magnet=1.5 T) was acquired in a plane c ontaining the thoracic aorta. A transverse saturation band 30 mm wide was positioned 30-40 mm above the aortic valve. Aortic insufficiency w as graded the importance of end-diastolic retrograde movement in the s aturation band in the descending aorta was noted. Magnetic resonance w as also compared to Doppler echocardiography in 20 patients. In the co ntrols, we found that retrograde blood flow was absent (18/20) or mild (2/20). In contrast, the presence of marked retrograde movement in a saturation band across the thoracic aorta was always associated with s evere aortic regurgitation (angiographic grade III or IV). This rapid method (imaging time less than 20 min) can be applied in most patients with aortic regurgitation and is likely to be helpful when echocardio graphy is not possible or gives inconclusive results.