Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows non invasive evaluation of right ventricular size, morphology and shape. It provides information on right ventricular function and allows non-invasive assessment of blood flow including cardiac output, stroke volume, distensibility of pulmonary artery and right ventricular mass [190,191]. Decreased stroke volume, an increased right ventricular right ventricular end-diastolic volume and a decreased measured at baseline are associated with poor prognosis of disease [192,193]. In addition, it has been demonstrated that deterioration of these parameters at one-year follow-up were also predictors of mortality [193]. Thus cardiac MRI could represent a non-invasive tool to evaluate severity of PAH patients at baseline and during follow-up. Further studies are needed to evaluate the precise place of cardiac MRI in the management of PAH patients.