Usefulness of real-time navigator magnetic resonance imaging for evaluating coronary artery origins in pediatric patients

Navigator coronary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was evaluated in assessing coronary artery origins in a pediatric and adolescent population. Sixty-five consecutive infants, children, or adolescents (age range 11 days to 21 years) were referred for MRI evaluations to assess coronary artery origins. Coronary artery origins were unambiguously delineated in 62 of 65 patients. In 3 patients, irregular arrhythmias precluded cardiac gating of the magnetic resonance acquisition. Two patients had anomalous coronary artery origins detected. Twenty-six patients required sedation for the studies. Free-breathing 3-dimensional MRI with real-time navigator correction is a robust method for delineating the coronary artery origins in pediatric and adolescent patients.