Aortic and mitral regurgitation: quantification using moving slice velocity mapping

Comprehensive assessment of the severity of valvular insufficiency includes quantification of regurgitant volumes. Previous methods lack reliable slice positioning with respect to the valve and are prone to velocity offsets due to through-plane motion of the valvular plane of the heart. Recently, the moving slice velocity mapping technique was proposed. In this study, the technique was applied for quantification of mitral and aortic regurgitation. Time-efficient navigator-based respiratory artifact suppression was achieved by implementing a prospective k-space reordering scheme in conjunction with slice position correction. Twelve patients with aortic insufficiency and three patients with mitral insufficiency were studied. Aortic regurgitant volumes were calculated from diastolic velocities mapped with a moving slice 5 mm distal to the aortic valve annulus. Mitral regurgitant flow was indirectly assessed by measuring mitral inflow at the level of the mitral annulus and net aortic outflow. Regurgitant fractions, derived from velocity data corrected for through-plane motion, were compared to data without correction for through-plane motion. In patients with mild and moderate aortic regurgitation, regurgitant fractions differed by 60% and 15%, on average, when comparing corrected and uncorrected data, respectively. Differences in severe aortic regurgitation were less (7%). Due to the large orifice area of the mitral valve, differences were still substantial in moderate-to-severe mitral regurgitation (19%). The moving slice velocity mapping technique was successfully applied in patients with aortic and mitral regurgitation. The importance of correction for valvular through-plane motion is demonstrated.