Quantification of pulmonary edema in heart failure using MRI: invasive validation and evaluation in HFpEF and HFrEF patients

Background Pulmonary edema is a cardinal feature of heart failure (HF), reflecting impaired ventricular filling. The associated increase in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) results in accumulation of fluid in the interstitium/alveolae. MRI signal is directly proportional to water density (WD) and is thus an attractive tool for quantitative assessment of edema. The primary goals of the current study were to: (1) evaluate the relationship between MRI-derived lung WD and invasively measured LVEDP in patients with HF and (2) characterize lung WD in healthy controls, patients at risk for HF and HF patients with NYHA class I-III symptoms.