Myocardial T2 values at 1.5 T by a segmental approach with healthy aging and gender

Objectives Our aims were to obtain myocardial regional and global T2 values as a reference for normality for the first time using a GE scanner and to assess their association with physiological variables. Methods One hundred healthy volunteers aged 20-70 years (50% females) underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance. Basal, mid-ventricular, and apical short-axis slices of the left ventricle were acquired by a multi-echo fast-spin-echo (MEFSE) sequence. Image analysis was performed with a commercially available software package. The T2 value was assessed in all 16 myocardial segments and the global value was the mean. Results The global T2 value averaged across all subjects was 52.2 +/- 2.5 ms (range: 47.0-59.9 ms). Inter-study, intra-observer, and inter-observer reproducibility was good (coefficient of variation < 5%). 3.6% of the segments was excluded because of artifacts and/or partial-volume effects. Segmental T2 values differed significantly (p < 0.0001), with the lowest value in the basal anterolateral segment (50.0 +/- 3.5 ms) and the highest in the apical lateral segment (54.9 +/- 5.1 ms). Mean T2 was significantly lower in the basal slice compared to both mid-ventricular and apical slices and in the mid-ventricular slice than in the apical slice. Aging was associated with increased segmental and global T2 values. Females showed higher T2 values than males. T2 values were not correlated to heart rate. A significant inverse correlation was detected between global T2 values and mean wall thickness. Conclusions The optimized MEFSE sequence allows for robust and reproducible quantification of segmental T2 values. Gender- and age-specific segmental reference values must be defined for distinguishing healthy and diseased myocardium.