A system and method is provided for magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) that includes performing a labeling pulse to a labeling region having a first portion of a vascular system of a subject. The labeling pulse includes at least one excitation pulse and a slab-selective magnetic field gradient to saturate spins flowing from the labeling region and into an imaging region. The process also includes observing a delay period and performing an imaging pulse sequence to collect a label imaging data set from one or more views through the imaging region using an excitation pulse. The preceding is repeated with a TR selected to ensure that the spins flowing within the imaging region are kept substantially saturated during a majority of repetitions. The process also includes acquiring a non-labeling imaging data set without saturating spins and reconstructing an image using the labeling imaging data set and the non-labeling imaging data.
