Oxygen Inhalation Reduces Left Ventricular Perfusion and Cardiac Output Measured by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Marcus Carlsson¹, Stefan Bodetoft², Hakan Arheden, Ulf Ekelund²

Oxygen is administered on a routine basis to patients, however the consequences on the cardiac physiology are not clear. This MR-study used cine steady state free precession images to measure left ventricular dimensions and phase velocity encoded images to measure cardiac output in the aorta and the flow in the coronary sinus to calculate LV perfusion. Oxygen inhalation decreased left ventricular perfusion and cardiac output in healthy volunteers.