Diagnoses of Heart Scarring Improved by MR Scanning Taken During Systole Phase

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) taken in a patient during the cardiac cycle provide a more comprehensive outlook of the level of myocardial scarring in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Scar detection is significant because it helps identify patients who are at higher risk of a fatal event, according to Dr. James Fernandez, from the Stony Brook University Heart Institute (Stony Brook, NY, USA), and the first author of the study.

The standard protocol to determine scar in these patients is to collect just diastolic data, reported Dr. Fernandez. “However, our study of 30 patients at the University of Southern California found that images taken during the systolic cardiac phase can show scars not seen on images taken in the diastolic phase,” Dr. Fernandez said. “Scars were seen in 23 studies in diastole versus 25 studies in systole,” he said. In three studies, systolic images showed scars beneath the left ventricle, an area prone to ischemic damage, that were not detectable on diastolic images,” Dr. Fernandez explained.

The research was presented April 16, 2013, at the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) annual meeting in Washington DC (USA).

Related Links:
Stony Brook University Heart Institute