ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of the cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) for quantify the aortic area in adult patients with pure aortic stenosis (AS). METHOD: Comparative cross-sectional study, blinded, in patients with AS, without another valvular pathology associated. A transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) and cMRI were performed, in all of them. Results were analyzed by Student t test and ji-square, considering significant values p < 0.05. Bayesian analysis and ROC curve, for the determination of the disease severity. RESULTS: No were significant differences with respect to quantification of the speed of transvalvular flow between both methods (TTE 4.593 +/- 0.9114 m/s vs. cMRI 4.233 +/- 0.6894 m/s, p = 0.080), nor the ejection fraction (TTE 54.27 +/-16.451 vs. cMRI 48.40 +/-17.332, p = 0.760). The cMRI seems to underestimate the maximum and medium gradients compared with the TTE, in 12.53 mm Hg and 10.07 mm Hg respectively. The sensitivity for the diagnosis of severe aortic stenosis is 90% with specificity 80%. CONCLUSIONS: The cMRI is a useful diagnostic method for the evaluation of patients with pure aortic valve stenosis, as good as TTE. cMRI can to be a diagnostic alternative in cases with limitations to TTE.