Table 1.

Standard and additional CMR sequences for assessment of DCM in children.

Standard CMR Sequences	Typical Findings
Localizer (transaxial, coronal, sagittal)
2D Cine bSSFP	▪ventricular dilatation and impairment of systolic function ▪global hypokinesia
Late Gadolinium Enhancement	▪very variable: absent, intramyocardial, transmural, subendocardial or subepicardial; septal linear mid-wall sign
Additional CMR Sequences
Native T1 and ECV mapping	▪normal or global increase of native T1 and ECV values
T2 mapping and T2-weighted (STIR)	▪normal or global increase of native T2 values and T2 signal intensity (acute phase of decompensation)
2D velocity-encoded phase contrast	▪assessment of mitral valve regurgitation secondary to annular dilatation ▪assessment of aortic flow for cardiac index calculation
3D whole-heart bSSFP	▪to exclude anomalies of origin/course/termination of the coronary arteries

CMR cardiovascular magnetic resonance; DCM dilated cardiomyopathy; 2D two-dimensional; bSSFP balanced steady state free precession; ECV extracellular volume; 3D three-dimensional; STIR short-tau inversion recovery.