Comprehensive assessment of the severity and mechanism of aortic regurgitation using multidetector CT and MR

Recent studies have suggested that both cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) can quantify aortic regurgitation (AR) by planimetry of the anatomical regurgitant orifice (ARO). However, this measurement was not compared with quantitative assessment of AR such as the effective regurgitant orifice (ERO) by proximal isosurface area (PISA) transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) or phase contrast MR. In 42 patients (34 men, age 54 ± 11 years) we compared planimetered ARO by MDCT and MR with ERO and regurgitant volume by PISA TTE and phase contrast MR. ARO by MDCT ( r = 0.87, p