TY - JOUR T1 - Analysis of flow vortices in the pulmonary artery of healthy volunteers and patients with pulmonary hypertension JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 42 IS - Suppl 57 SP - 4834 AU - Guilhem Collier AU - Andy Swift AU - David Capener AU - David Kiely AU - Robin Condliffe AU - Charlie Elliot AU - Jim Wild Y1 - 2013/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/4834.abstract N2 - Background: 4D flow MRI can be used to assess flow patterns in the blood circulation of the major vessels. It has been applied to pulmonary hypertension (PH) by Reiter, G. et al. (Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging 2008; 1:23-30), who concluded that manifest PH coincides with the appearance of a vortex of blood flow in the main pulmonary artery (PA) with high sensitivity and specificity, and that the relative lifetime of the vortex (tv) correlates significantly with mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP).Aims: The present study aims to assess the existence and formation of the vortices in healthy volunteers and patients with suspected PH.Methods: Subjects undergoing cardiac catheterisation (RHC) at a PH referral centre and healthy volunteers underwent 4D flow MR imaging of the pulmonary artery on a GE HDx 1.5T scanner within 48 hrs of RHC. Velocity maps of the flow in the PA for each cardiac frame were generated. tv was determined by a single observer blinded to the catheter results.Results: 20 patients with PH (57 ± 30 y), 5 patients with no PH (64 ± 22 y) and 7 healthy subjects (32 ± 9 y) were assessed. Vortices were found in 3 of the 7 healthy subjects and 3 of the 5 healthy patients (mPAP < 25 mmHg). They were also found in 19 of the 20 patients with PH. No correlation existed between tv and mPAP (r² ∼ 0).Conclusion: Vortices of blood flow in the PA are present not only in PH but also in a significant percentage of healthy subjects and patients without PH. Our results in PH patients do not show any correlation between tv and mPAP, which suggests that the existence of a PA flow vortex is not a sensitive parameter for the detection of PH. ER -