Evaluation of left ventricular volumes measured by magnetic resonance imaging

Left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes were determined in 17 patients with different levels of left ventricular function by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A 1.5 Tesla Magnet was used obtaining ECG triggered single and multiple slices. Calculated cardiac outputs were compared with those measured simultaneously by a classical physiological indicator dilution technique. There was good agreement between cardiac output as measured by MRI and the indicator dilution method, when the multislice technique was used (r = 0.87, p less than 0.001). A poor correlation between the two methods was seen when the single slice technique was used (r = 0.06, p greater than 0.80). The results indicate that MRI is a reliable method for left ventricular volume determination when the multislice technique is used.