Comparison of arterial and venous coronary artery bypass flow measurements using 3-T magnetic resonance phase contrast imaging

Abstract Objective Comparison of arterial and venous coronary artery bypass flow measurements using 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) phase contrast in correlation with intraoperative Doppler flow measurements. Methods Fifty-six coronary bypasses (right coronary artery n  = 18, left internal mammary artery to left anterior descending artery n  = 16, marginal artery n  = 7, circumflex artery n  = 7, diagonal artery n  = 6, left anterior descending artery n  = 1, and right internal mammary artery to right coronary artery n  = 1) were studied in 27 asymptomatic patients. In this prospective study, each bypass was studied intra-operatively using Doppler flow measurement. Within one week post surgery, patients were studied using a 3-T MR scanner (Magnetom Verio, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) using velocity encoded phase-contrast flow measurements. Results Intraoperative Doppler flow measurements demonstrated regular flow patterns in all vascular territories supplied. All bypasses were patent on MRI and flow measurement results were as follows: median flow 60 ml/min (interquartile range (IQR): 37.5–78.5 ml/min). For comparison, the corresponding median intraoperative flow was 58 ml/min (IQR: 41–80 ml/min) ( p R  = 0.44). Linear regression analysis demonstrated a significant correlation for venous bypasses ( p  = 0.0002; R  = 0.48), but not for arterial bypasses ( p  = 0.09; R  = 0.24). Conclusion This study demonstrated that MR flow measurements of venous bypass grafts agreed more with Doppler than arterial bypass grafts. However, bypass patency was confirmed for all patients. In the future, this technique may be used for non invasive coronary bypass graft follow-up.