Abnormal Mitral Valve Dimensions in Pediatric Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

The hearts of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) show structural abnormalities other than isolated wall thickening. Recently, adult HCM patients have been found to have longer mitral valve leaflets than control subjects. The aim of the current study was to assess whether children and adolescents with HCM have similar measureable differences in mitral valve leaflet dimensions when compared to a healthy control group. Clinical and echocardiographic data from 46 children with myocardial hypertrophy and a phenotype and/or genotype consistent with sarcomeric HCM were reviewed. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging studies were evaluated. The anterior and posterior mitral valve leaflet lengths and myocardial structure were compared to 20 healthy controls. The anterior mitral valve was longer in the HCM group than in the control group (28.4 ± 4.9 vs. 25.2 ± 3.6 mm in control patients, p = 0.013) as was the posterior mitral valve leaflet (16.3 ± 3.0 vs. 13.1 ± 2.3 mm for controls <0.0001). There was no correlation between the resting left ventricular outflow tract gradient and anterior mitral valve leaflet length, nor was the anterior mitral valve leaflet longer in those with systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve compared to those without (28.9 ± 6.1 vs. 28.1 ± 4.5 mm, p = 0.61). Children and adolescents with HCM have abnormally long mitral valve leaflets when compared with healthy control subjects. These abnormalities do not appear to result in, or be due to, obstruction to left ventricular outflow. The mechanism of this mitral valve elongation is not clear but appears to be independent of hemodynamic disturbances.

Fetal circulation in left-sided congenital heart disease measured by cardiovascular magnetic resonance: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The distribution of blood flow in fetuses with congenital heart disease (CHD) is likely to influence fetal growth, organ development, and postnatal outcome, but has previously been difficult to study. We present the first measurements of the distribution of the fetal circulation in left-sided CHD made using phase contrast cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). METHODS: Twenty-two fetuses with suspected left-sided CHD and twelve normal controls underwent fetal CMR and echocardiography at a mean of 35 weeks gestation (range 30-39 weeks). RESULTS: Fetuses with left-sided CHD had a mean combined ventricular output 19% lower than normal controls (p < 0.01). In fetuses with left-sided CHD with pulmonary venous obstruction, pulmonary blood flow was significantly lower than in those with left-sided CHD without pulmonary venous obstruction (p < 0.01). All three fetuses with pulmonary venous obstruction had pulmonary lymphangectasia by fetal CMR and postnatal histology. Fetuses with small but apex forming left ventricles with left ventricular outflow tract or aortic arch obstruction had reduced ascending aortic and foramen ovale flow compared with normals (p < 0.01). Fetuses with left-sided CHD had more variable superior vena caval flows than normal controls (p < 0.05). Six fetuses with CHD had brain weights at or below the 5th centile for gestational age, while none of the fetuses in the normal control group had brain weights below the 25th centile. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of the distribution of the fetal circulation in late gestation left-sided CHD is feasible with CMR. We demonstrated links between fetal blood flow distribution and postnatal course, and examined the relationship between fetal hemodynamics and lung and brain development. CMR enhances our understanding of pathophysiology of the fetal circulation and, with more experience, may help with the planning of perinatal management and fetal counselling.

Dynamic imaging of the fetal heart using metric optimized gating.

PURPOSE: Advances in fetal cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging have been limited by the absence of a reliable cardiac gating signal. The purpose of this work was to develop and validate metric-optimized gating (MOG) for cine imaging of the fetal heart. THEORY AND METHODS: Cine MR and electrocardiogram data were acquired in healthy adult volunteers for validation of the MOG method. Comparison of MOG and electrocardiogram reconstructions was performed based on the image quality for each method, and the difference between MOG and electrocardiogram trigger times. Fetal images were also acquired, their quality evaluated by experienced radiologists, and the theoretical error in the MOG trigger times were calculated. RESULTS: Excellent agreement between electrocardiogram and MOG reconstructions was observed. The experimental errors in adult MOG trigger times for all five volunteers were ± (7, 25, 17, 8, and 13) ms. Fetal images captured normal and diseased cardiac dynamics. CONCLUSION: MOG for cine imaging of the fetal myocardium was developed and validated in adults. Using MOG, the first gated MR images of the human fetal myocardium were obtained. Small moving structures were visualized during radial contraction, thus capturing normal fetal cardiac wall motion and permitting assessment of cardiac function.

Feasibility of quantification of the distribution of blood flow in the normal human fetal circulation using CMR: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: We present the first phase contrast (PC) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) measurements of the distribution of blood flow in twelve late gestation human fetuses. These were obtained using a retrospective gating technique known as metric optimised gating (MOG). METHODS: A validation experiment was performed in five adult volunteers where conventional cardiac gating was compared with MOG. Linear regression and Bland Altman plots were used to compare MOG with the gold standard of conventional gating. Measurements using MOG were then made in twelve normal fetuses at a median gestational age of 37 weeks (range 30-39 weeks). Flow was measured in the major fetal vessels and indexed to the fetal weight. RESULTS: There was good correlation between the conventional gated and MOG measurements in the adult validation experiment (R=0.96). Mean flows in ml/min/kg with standard deviations in the major fetal vessels were as follows: combined ventricular output (CVO) 540 ± 101, main pulmonary artery (MPA) 327 ± 68, ascending aorta (AAo) 198 ± 38, superior vena cava (SVC) 147 ± 46, ductus arteriosus (DA) 220 ± 39,pulmonary blood flow (PBF) 106 ± 59,descending aorta (DAo) 273 ± 85, umbilical vein (UV) 160 ± 62, foramen ovale (FO)107 ± 54. Results expressed as mean percentages of the CVO with standard deviations were as follows: MPA 60 ± 4, AAo37 ± 4, SVC 28 ± 7, DA 41 ± 8, PBF 19 ± 10, DAo50 ± 12, UV 30 ± 9, FO 21 ± 12. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates how PC CMR with MOG is a feasible technique for measuring the distribution of the normal human fetal circulation in late pregnancy. Our preliminary results are in keeping with findings from previous experimental work in fetal lambs.