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© The European Society of Cardiology 2007. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Magnetic resonance and nuclear imaging of the right ventricle in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Anton Vonk-Noordegraaf1,*, Jan-Willem Lankhaar1,3, Marco J.W. Götte2, J. Tim Marcus3, Pieter E. Postmus1 and Nico Westerhof1,4

1 Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2 Department of Cardiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
3 Department of Physics and Medical Technology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
4 Department of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

* Corresponding author. Tel: +31 20 44 47 82; fax: +31 20 44 43 28. E-mail address: a.vonk{at}vumc.nl

Many clinicians have recognized the unique possibilities of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the study of right ventricular (RV) anatomy. Especially for the assessment of the RV in pulmonary hypertension, MRI has been proven to be of clinical importance. It is, however, less well known that if MRI measures of volume and flow are combined with pressure measurements, accurate description of RV function in relation to its afterload is possible. Furthermore, nuclear imaging techniques offer the opportunity to study the altered RV metabolism and to elucidate the possible contribution of ischaemia to RV failure in pulmonary hypertension. Since RV failure in pulmonary hypertension is the result of the complex interaction between geometry, structure, function, perfusion, and metabolism, MRI and nuclear imaging are promising techniques to study these mechanisms and to evaluate the effects of therapy aimed at improving RV function in pulmonary hypertension.

Key Words: Ventricular structure • Ventricular function • Perfusion • PET • SPECT • Delayed-contrast enhancement


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