Current opinion in cardiology
May 7, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Fetal MRI for cardiopulmonary anomalies: what the pediatric cardiologist and surgeon need to know.
Dadoun SE, Mokha S, Kooraki S, Afshar Y.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
This review outlines when fetal cardiac MRI can provide additional diagnostic or prognostic value beyond standard fetal echocardiography for complex heart and lung anomalies, while noting that limited availability and technical complexity currently restrict its widespread clinical use.
What was studied
A narrative review providing an evidence-based framework for integrating fetal cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) as an adjunct to fetal echocardiography in the prenatal evaluation of complex cardiopulmonary anomalies, discussing its technical advantages and current limitations; this is not a primary research study with original patient outcome data.
Key findings
- Fetal CMR offers high-resolution, multiplanar imaging with superior soft-tissue contrast and wide field of view, improving assessment of cardiopulmonary structures where echocardiography is technically or physiologically limited.
- MRI enables improved delineation of aortic arch and pulmonary venous anatomy, characterization of pulmonary parenchymal changes, and quantification of lung and ventricular volumetry without relying on geometric assumptions.
- Emerging flow-based MRI techniques allow evaluation of fetal hemodynamics and cardiovascular physiology beyond static imaging, providing diagnostic and prognostic information in select, often critical, congenital heart diseases.
Clinical relevance
This review suggests fetal cardiac MRI can serve as a valuable complementary tool to expert fetal echocardiography for select, clinically meaningful diagnostic or prognostic questions in complex congenital heart disease, which could inform counseling, delivery planning, and postnatal management, though the authors note that limited availability and need for specialized expertise currently constrain widespread adoption.
Who should care
Limitations
This is a narrative review rather than a systematic review or original study; the authors explicitly state that continued technical refinement and outcome-based validation are required before fetal CMR can be routinely integrated into clinical practice.
A specialized MRI technique can add valuable information to standard prenatal heart ultrasounds for certain complex cases, but it currently remains limited to specialized centers due to technical complexity.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Purpose of review
Advances in fetal cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) have expanded its role as an adjunct to expert fetal echocardiography in the prenatal evaluation of complex cardiopulmonary anomalies. This review outlines an evidence-based framework for integrating fetal CMR when it provides diagnostic or prognostic information that can informs counseling, delivery planning, or postnatal management.
Recent findings
Fetal CMR offers high-resolution, multiplanar imaging with superior soft-tissue contrast and wide field of view, enabling improved assessment of cardiopulmonary structures where echocardiography is limited by technical or physiologic factors, or when expert echocardiography raises clinically relevant questions. MRI enables improved delineation of aortic arch and pulmonary venous anatomy, characterization of pulmonary parenchymal changes, and quantify lung and ventricular volumetry without relying on geometric assumptions. Emerging flow-based techniques allow evaluation of fetal hemodynamics and cardiovascular physiology beyond static imaging. These technologies provide diagnostic and prognostic information in select, often critical, congenital heart diseases.
Summary
Fetal cardiac CMR serves as a complementary modality to expert echocardiography when applied selectively to address clinically meaningful diagnostic or prognostic questions. However, limited availability, technical complexity, and the need for specialized expertise currently constrain widespread adoption. Continued technical refinement and outcome-based validation are required before fetal CMR can be routinely integrated into clinical practice.
DOI
10.1097/hco.0000000000001301
PMID
42093267
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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