[Functional cardiac MRI for assessment of aortic valve disease].

Aortic valve disease shows a rising incidence with the increasing mean age of Western populations. The detection of hemodynamic parameters, which transcends the mere assessment of valve morphology, has an important future potential concerning classification of the severity of disease. MRI allows a non-invasive and a spatially flexible view of the aortic valve and the adjacent anatomic region, left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) and ascending aorta. Moreover, the technique allows the determination of functional hemodynamic parameters, such as flow velocities and effective orifice areas. The new approach of a serial systolic planimetry velocity-encoded MRI sequence (VENC-MRI) facilitates the sizing of blood-filled cardiac structures with the registration of changes in magnitude during systole. Additionally, the subvalvular VENC-MRI measurements improve the clinically important exact determination of the LVOT area with respect to its specific eccentric configuration and its systolic deformity.