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Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for the assessment of the heart and pulmonary circulation in pulmonary hypertension

Scottish Pulmonary Vascular Unit, Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Glasgow, UK.

CORRESPONDENCE: A. J. Peacock, Scottish Pulmonary Vascular Unit, Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Beardmore Street, Clydebank, G81 4HX, West Dumbartonshire, Scotland, UK. E-mail: SPVUnit{at}gjnh.scot.nhs.uk

Keywords: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, pulmonary circulation, pulmonary hypertension, right heart

Received: October 23, 2007
Accepted December 23, 2008

Pulmonary hypertension is a disease of the pulmonary arteries resulting in a progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance, ultimately leading to right ventricular failure and death. The functional capacity of the right ventricle is a major prognostic determinant. Our understanding of right ventricle performance in pulmonary hypertension has been hindered by the lack of techniques that give a reliable picture of right ventricle morphology and function. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging enables a unique combination of morphological and functional assessment of the right ventricle and pulmonary circulation. In this review article, we introduce the technique of CMR imaging, review its use in imaging of the heart and pulmonary circulation and discuss its current and future application to the management of patients with pulmonary hypertension.

There have been recent major advances in our understanding of the mechanism of disease development, in the diagnostic process, and in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Therapeutic advances in the management have reinforced the requirement for noninvasive, accurate and reproducible methods of assessment to act as "end-points" to measure the effects of treatment. We anticipate CMR imaging will increasingly be utilised as the primary modality for combined anatomic and functional assessments that enable more complete and efficient evaluation of pulmonary hypertension patients.