MR angiography of the renal arteries

Three-dimensional contrast-enhanced MR angiography, with data acquisition during a breath-hold interval, allows accurate evaluation of the renal arteries, abdominal aorta, iliac arteries, and proximal visceral arteries. The reliability and availability of this technique extends renal artery screening to a broader spectrum of patients. Adjunctive flow-dependent pulse sequences provide functional information, which may help identify hemodynamically significant stenoses. Apart from screening for renal artery stenosis, indications for renal MR angiography include mapping arterial anatomy prior to renal revascularization and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, evaluating renal bypass grafts and renal transplant anastomoses, assessing dissections or aneurysms involving the renal arteries, identifying vascular involvement by renal tumors, and evaluating potential renal transplant donors.