[Magnetic resonance imaging of cardiovascular diseases: advantages of coronal and sagittal planes].

The usefulness of coronal and sagittal sections of the cardiovascular system by magnetic resonance imaging was evaluated. Coronal, sagittal and transverse spin echo scans using ECG-non-gating and gating during systole and diastole were performed for five normal volunteers, 91 with heart diseases (25 valvular disease, 28 ischemic heart disease, 14 cardiomyopathies, 14 congenital malformations, four pericardial diseases, and six others) and 32 patients with aortic abnormalities (17 aneurysms, 10 dissections and five others) using a 2.5 KGauss unit. Cardiac gating necessitated six to eight min per scan, but it was mandatory to obtain clear images of the details. On the other hand, in most of the aortic abnormalities, diagnostic images were obtained by the ECG-non-gating technique which required only about 2.5 min per scan. Coronal and sagittal sections were useful for estimating the entire shape and size of each cardiac chamber and intracardiac thrombi, the extent of postinfarctional wall thinning and cardiac aneurysms, and hypertrophy or narrowing of both the ventricular outflow tracts and apex. These planes were particularly useful, and more contributory than transverse planes for detecting inferior myocardial damage such as infarction. A few coronal and sagittal scans were sufficient to diagnose extensive lesions of the aorta, such as atherosclerosis, dissections and the aortitis syndrome. Local lesions such as coarctation, supravalvular aortic stenosis, annulo-aortic ectasia and aneurysm, especially those originating in the inferior wall of the aortic arch were easily discovered. Since the main arteries, such as the innominate, left common carotid, left subclavian and renal arteries, were clearly demonstrated by coronal images, coronal scans were considered more useful than transverse ones for observing the relationship between these arteries and dissections or aneurysms of the arch and of the abdominal aorta.