Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging, Cardiovascular System & Cardiology, Cardiovascular magnetic resonance, Exercise cardiovascular magnetic resonance, Stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance, Exercise stress, Treadmill cardiovascular magnetic resonance, Supine cycle ergometer, SUPINE BICYCLE EXERCISE, AMERICAN-HEART-ASSOCIATION, CORONARY-ARTERY-DISEASE, HIGH-ENERGY PHOSPHATES, LEFT-VENTRICULAR SIZE, PULMONARY BLOOD-FLOW, PHASE-CONTRAST MRI, PHYSICAL-EXERCISE, STRESS ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION, Adult, Aged, Bicycling, Exercise Test, Female, Heart Diseases, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Positioning, Predictive Value of Tests, Young Adult, 1102 Cardiorespiratory Medicine and Haematology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging, 3201 Cardiovascular medicine and haematology

Abstract:

Stress cardiac imaging is the current first line investigation for coronary artery disease diagnosis and decision making and an adjunctive tool in a range of non-ischaemic cardiovascular diseases. Exercise cardiovascular magnetic resonance (Ex-CMR) has developed over the past 25 years to combine the superior image qualities of CMR with the preferred method of exercise stress. Presently, numerous exercise methods exist, from performing stress on an adjacent CMR compatible treadmill to in-scanner exercise, most commonly on a supine cycle ergometer. Cardiac conditions studied by Ex-CMR are broad, commonly investigating ischaemic heart disease and congenital heart disease but extending to pulmonary hypertension and diabetic heart disease. This review presents an in-depth assessment of the various Ex-CMR stress methods and the varied pulse sequence approaches, including those specially designed for Ex-CMR. Current and future developments in image acquisition are highlighted, and will likely lead to a much greater clinical use of Ex-CMR across a range of cardiovascular conditions.