Assessment of global left ventricular functional parameters: analysis of every second short-axis Magnetic Resonance Imaging slices is as accurate as analysis of consecutive slices.

The purpose of this study was to assess whether accurate global left-ventricular (LV) functional parameters can be obtained by analyzing every second short-axis magnetic resonance imaging cine series instead of consecutive slices, in order to reduce post-processing time. Forty patients, were scanned on a 1.5 T MRI-system (Magnetom Sonata, Siemens Medical Systems, Erlangen, Germany) using a steady-state free precession (SSFP) sequence. A stack of short-axis cine series from above the mitral valve through the apex was acquired. Post-processing was started at the most basal slice of the left ventricle, in which at least 50% of the circumference was myocardium. End-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV), ejection fraction (EF) and LV mass (LVM), were calculated. Data analysis was repeated, but now only every second slice was analyzed. Bland-Altman analysis showed slightly lower values for all LV parameters when only every second slice was analyzed, ranging from 1.7% difference for EF (limits of agreement -3.5 to 5.0) to 4.6% for SV (limits of agreement -7.2 to 15.0). Analysis of every second slice for quantification of global LV function is time-saving and as accurate as analysis of consecutive slices.