VALUE OF FAST GRADIENT-ECHO MAGNETIC-RESONANCE ANGIOGRAPHY AS AN ADJUNCT TO CORONARY ARTERIOGRAPHY IN DETECTING AND CONFIRMING THE COURSE OF CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT CORONARY-ARTERY ANOMALIES

We investigated the additional value of magnetic resonance (MR) angiog raphy in 12 patients with clinically significant coronary anomalies. I n 5 patients, the referring cardiologist requested additional evaluati on because coronary arteriography was inconclusive about the course of the anomaly. For comparison, 7 patients with known anomalous coronary arteries were collected from our database. In these patients, there h ad been no doubt about the course of the anomalous coronary arteries. MR angiography provided the diagnosis in all 5 patients in whom the di agnosis was inconclusive beforehand. From the 7 patients in whom diagn osis had been established previously by contrast arteriography, the an omaly was confirmed in 5 by MR angiography. In 1 patient, the initial diagnosis at contrast arteriography had to be changed as a result of M R angiography. In 1 patient, the MR image was of insufficient quality to be conclusive. In conclusion, in patients with angiographically sus pected coronary anomalies, fast gradient echo MR angiography is a help ful adjunct to coronary arteriography in identifying and confirming th e origin and course of clinically significant coronary anomalies. The additional value of fast gradient echo MR coronary angiography is the visualization of both the artery and its surrounding structures. (C) 1 997 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.