Cardiovascular MRI in Thoracic Aortopathy: A Focused Review of Recent Literature Updates

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review aims to provide a focused update on the clinical and research trends in thoracic aorta magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Recent FindingsTraditional cardiovascular MRI techniques for the evaluation of thoracic aortopathy have focused on vessel diameter and qualitative descriptors to characterize disease. Recent developments in MR image acquisition and flow visualization and quantification now allow for advanced evaluation of aortic hemodynamics with MRI in both adults and children with aortic disease, and are likely to provide new imaging-derived biomarkers in aortic disease. Novel acquisitions and post-processing tools continue to be developed, and new analysis packages, some of which are cloud-based, are likely to improve clinical workflow for advanced MRI applications.SummaryWith continued improvements in MRI acquisition speed, as well as the growth of MRI-derived biomarkers, clinical use of MRI for the evaluation of thoracic aortic disease will continue to increase. These techniques are likely to enable improved risk stratification with patient-specific biomarkers to guide surgical planning  and medical therapy, improving the treatment of patients with aortic disease.
Source: Current Radiology Reports - Category: Radiology Source Type: research