Differentiating Pulmonary Hypertension Groups by 3D Vortex-contained energetics from 4D Flow MRI and Correlation with Right Heart Function

Motivation: There is a lack of noninvasive methods to differentiate between different Pulmonary Hypertension Groups/types. Such differentiation is clinically critical because treatments of one group can be harmful to another. Goal(s): We investigated a new noninvasive 4D Flow MRI-based method to differentiate between Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) and Pulmonary Venous Hypertension (PVH), currently distinguished conclusively only through invasive catheterization. Approach: Our study focused on analyzing 3D vortex flow and its energetics in the left pulmonary artery (LPA) using 4D Flow MRI. Results: We found significant differences in vortex characteristics between PVH and PAH patients, with PVH showing larger vortex cores and higher energetics. Impact: These findings suggest the potential of LPA vortex flow analysis as a noninvasive diagnostic marker for distinguishing between PAH and PVH and possibly assessing disease severity.