Normal values for native T at 1.5 T in the pericardial fluid of healthy volunteers.

AIMS

T mapping cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging has been used to characterize pericardial effusions. The aim of this study was to measure pericardial fluid native T values in healthy volunteers to establish normal values.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Prospectively recruited volunteers ( = 30) underwent CMR at 1.5 T, and native T maps were acquired using a modified look-locker inversion recovery 5s(3s)3s acquisition scheme. A volume of pericardial fluid was imaged in a short-axis slice and in a slice perpendicular to the short-axis orientation. A reliable measurement had a region of interest (ROI) size > 10 mm, coefficient of variation < 10%, and a relative difference < 5% between the two slice orientations. In 26/30 (87%) of volunteers, there was a sufficient amount of pericardial fluid to enable reliable measurement. Native T of pericardial fluid was 3262 ± 163 (95% normal limits 2943-3581 ms) and did not differ in the perpendicular slice orientation (3267 ± 173 ms, = 0.75), due to sex (female 3311 ± 177 vs. male 3220 ± 142 ms, = 0.17), age ( = 0.03, = 0.44), heart rate ( = 0.005, = 0.7), or size of the ROI (0.06, = 0.23).

CONCLUSION

This study shows that T values can be reliably measured in the pericardial fluid of healthy volunteers. It is the first to report normal reference ranges for T values at 1.5 T in the pericardial fluid of healthy volunteers.