Magnetic Resonance Tissue Phase Mapping of Myocardial Motion

Abstract

Background— An exact understanding of normal age- and gender-matched regional myocardial performance is an essential perquisite for the diagnosis of heart disease. Magnetic resonance phase-contrast imaging (tissue phase mapping) enabling the analysis of segmental, 3-directional myocardial velocities with high temporal resolution (13.8 ms) was used to assess left ventricular motion. Methods and Results— Radial, long-axis, and rotational myocardial velocities were acquired in 58 healthy volunteers (3 age groups, 29 women) in left ventricular basal, midventricular, and apical short-axis locations. For increased age, reduced ( P <0.003) and prolonged long-axis and radial velocities ( P <0.05) during diastole and reduced long-axis velocities ( P <0.001) and apical rotation ( P <0.005) during systole were found for both genders. Women demonstrated a reduced systolic twist ( P =0.009), apical rotation ( P =0.01), and systolic radial velocities ( P <0.02) compared with men. Segmental analysis of long-axis motion with aging revealed differences in regional reduction of systolic (lateral 52% versus 30%) and diastolic (lateral 57% versus 41%) velocities in women compared with men. In basal segments, young women demonstrated higher long-axis velocities (+11% during diastole) than men, whereas this difference was reversed in older subjects (same segments, −20%). In addition, increased age resulted in a prolonged time to peak diastolic apical rotation ( P <0.04) in women compared with men. Conclusions— Age and gender strongly influence regional myocardial motion. Tissue phase mapping provides a comprehensive quantitative analysis of all myocardial velocities with high temporal and spatial resolution. The knowledge of the detected age- and gender-related differences in myocardial motion is fundamental for further investigations of cardiac disease. Clinical Trial Registration— http://www.zks.uni-freiburg.de/uklreg/php/suchergebnis_all.php. Identifier: UKF001739