Thomas Elgeti1, Mark Beling2, Sebastian
Hirsch1, Bernd Hamm1, Jrgen Braun3, Ingolf
Sack1
1Department of Radiology,
Charit Universittsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; 2Department
of Cardiology, Angiology, Pulmonology, Charit Universittsmedizin Berlin,
Berlin, Germany; 3Institute of Medical Informatics, Charit
Universittsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
MR Elastography (MRE) relies on excitation and measurement of shear-waves in soft tissue. Cardiac MRE was performed in 4 groups: young and old healthy volunteers and patients with mild and severe diastolic dysfunction. Several elasticity-based parameters were measured. In diastolic dysfunction the amplitudes of externally induced shear waves were lower than in healthy controls. Furthermore, elasticity determined cardiac time intervals were altered similar to echocardiographic derived time intervals. Cardiac MRE allows measuring elasticity parameters of the left ventricular myocardium associated with physiological aging and relaxation abnormalities.