Accuracy of right- and left-ventricular heart volume and left-ventricular muscle mass determinations by cine MRI in breath-hold technique.

Purpose: To assess the accuracy of right- (RV) and left-ventricular (LV) he art volume and muscle mass determinations by cine MR imaging. Materials and Methods: Ten subjects were examined twice by a segmented, EGG-triggered ci ne sequence in the short axis plane and breath-hold technique by two indepe ndent operators and again 4 weeks later by one of the operators. The contou rs were evaluated manually by two independent examiners and again four week s later by one of the examiners. LV and RV end-diastolic and end-systolic v olumes, stroke volume, cardiac output, ejection fraction (EF); and left-ven tricular muscle mass were compared. Results: The RV evaluation variations ( RV-EF: 6.46%) were higher than the LV (LV-EF: 4.46%). The intra-examiner va riations were smaller than the inter-examiner variations. The generally ope rators did not cause a significantly increased variation (LV-EF: 5.77%). In contrast, the repeat examinations at different times did lead to a signifi cant increase in the variation (LV-EF: 10.15%). Conclusions: The rapid EGG- triggered cine MRI in breath-hold technique allows the simultaneous RV and LV, artefact-free determination of heart volumes and LV muscle mass. The LV volumes can be determined more accurately than the RV. The examiner has a distinct influence on the accuracy, the operator has a lesser effect. Physi ological fluctuations of cardiac activity significantly influence the follo w-up.