Myocardial function and perfusion assessment with exercise stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance using an MRI-compatible treadmill in patients referred for stress SPECT

Background Exercise stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has recently become feasible with the development of a fully MRI-compatible treadmill system along with improvements in imaging techniques. The utility of this setup has not been systematically compared with nuclear perfusion imaging. The study objective was to evaluate the accuracy and prognostic value of exercise stress CMR with a treadmill placed immediately next to the MRI scanner table in patients referred for treadmill stress nuclear perfusion imaging. Methods