Radiology, Vol 193, 731-738, Copyright © 1994 by Radiological Society of North America
Two-dimensional coronary MR angiography: analysis of initial clinical results
AJ Duerinckx and MK Urman
Radiology VA Medical Center, West Los Angeles (Wadsworth).
PURPOSE: To assess the diagnostic value of two-dimensional coronary
magnetic resonance (MR) angiography in patients evaluate for ischemic heart
disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients who underwent elective
cardiac catheterization with coronary angiography were evaluated with
two-dimensional coronary MR angiography. Coronary MR angiography was
performed with a fat-suppressed electrocardiographically gated
gradient-echo sequence with k-space segmentation with a 1.5-T imager.
RESULTS: Seventeen of the 20 patients had a hemodynamically significant
coronary artery lesion (> or = 50% reduction in luminal diameter), with
a total of 27 proximal lesions. The sensitivity for detection of
hemodynamically significant lesions was 62% for the right coronary artery,
50% for the left main artery, 73% for the left anterior descending artery,
and 0% for the left circumflex artery, with an overall sensitivity of 63%.
Corresponding specificities were 56%, 84%, 37%, and 82% respectively.
CONCLUSION: Although in an early stage of development, two-dimensional
coronary MR angiography can depict 63% of hemodynamically significant
coronary artery lesions.
