Cardiac MRI: Part 1, cardiovascular shunts.

OBJECTIVE MRI plays an important role in the morphologic and functional evaluation of cardiovascular shunts. Good spatiotemporal resolution, inherent contrast resolution, wide FOV, and multiplanar imaging capabilities make MRI an ideal tool in the investigation of cardiovascular shunts. The velocity-encoded phase-contrast sequence is used in the quantification of a shunt and the steady-state free precession (SSFP) sequence is used in the assessment of the functional impact of a shunt. In this article, the role of MRI in the evaluation of cardiovascular shunts and their respective MRI appearances are described and illustrated. CONCLUSION MRI can identify and characterize septal defects, quantify shunts and their impact on cardiac function, and help in the selection of appropriate candidates for percutaneous device placement.