Coronary Veins Imaging Using Free-Breathing Whole-Heart 3D Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at 3.0 Tesla: A Comparative Study with Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT)

Abdalla A. Elagha¹, Roderic I. Pettigrew¹, Ahmed M. Gharib¹

Recent studies show the feasibility of MDCT for assessment of coronary veins; however, it exposes patients to risk of use of ionizing radiation and potentially-nephrotoxic iodinated contrast agent. Alternatively, cardiac MRI at 3T has become a powerful tool for non-invasive evaluation of cardiovascular structures especially coronary arteries, with a potential ability to depict coronary veins since they are closely related and enhance with contrast administration. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of 3T MRI to assess anatomy of coronary veins, and compare MRI measurements with those of MDCT. Regression analysis demonstrates close relationship between measurements of veins obtained by MRI and MDCT.Free-breathing whole-heart 3D technique at high field MRI (3T) is a feasible technique, providing high spatial resolution images and homogenous myocardial suppression. This allows for clear assessment and measurement of coronary veins, with comparable results with high resolution MDCT imaging, but with better safety profile.