4D magnetic resonance flow imaging for estimating pulmonary vascular resistance in pulmonary hypertension.

Purpose: To develop an estimate of pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) using blood flow measurements from 3D velocity-encoded phase contract magnetic resonance imaging (here termed 4D MRI).

Materials And Methods: In all, 17 patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and five controls underwent right heart catheterization (RHC), 4D and 2D Cine MRI (1.5T) within 24 hours.

Vorticity is a marker of right ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

Right ventricular diastolic dysfunction (RVDD) is an important prognostic indicator in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). RV vortex rings have been observed in healthy subjects, but their significance in RVDD is unknown. Vorticity, the local spinning motion of an element of fluid, may be a sensitive measure of RV vortex dynamics.