Society for cardiovascular magnetic resonance expert consensus statement on quantitative myocardial perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging

Myocardial perfusion imaging plays a central role in the management of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) and increasingly in patients with suspected ischemia with normal coronary arteries (INOCA) as well as anomalous origins of the coronary arteries and Kawasaki disease. Stress perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is recognized by international guidelines, with several Class 1 indications for the detection of abnormal myocardial blood flow in these clinical scenarios and offers excellent diagnostic accuracy and independent prognostic value. While visual interpretation of the perfusion data is the prevailing analysis method in clinical practice, quantitative perfusion CMR is at least as accurate for the detection of significant obstructive CAD and provides a more accurate estimation of the total ischemic burden in patients with CAD. Moreover, quantitative myocardial perfusion analysis provides unique insights into the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia, including microvascular disease in INOCA. Quantitative perfusion CMR can be fully automated, is user-independent, and may facilitate more widespread use of the modality. The aim of this Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) expert consensus document is to provide recommendations for the acquisition and analysis of quantitative myocardial perfusion CMR to facilitate standardization of methodology. This paper also discusses research and development goals to address current limitations, to ensure data reliability and validity, to create the basis for future multi-vendor and multicenter research, and to broaden the clinical use of quantitative perfusion CMR.