Acquisition and evaluation of tagged magnetic resonance images of the human left ventricle.

Magnetic resonance myocardial tagging was used to noninvasively analyze the complicated contraction pattern of the human cardiac left ventricle. The tagging and imaging sequence was optimized to obtain three to four double-angulated short-axis views during systole. The image contrast between labeled and unlabeled tissue was sufficient to apply a semiautomatic image evaluation procedure. In accordance with the invasively achieved findings of other groups, the measurements indicate a wringing motion of the left ventricle, with a clockwise twist at the heartbase and a contrary rotation at the apical level.