A method for operating a Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging system including generating radio frequency (RF) excitation pulses in a volume of patient anatomy that includes a patient's heart to provide subsequent acquisition of associated RF echo data and generating slice select magnetic field gradients for phase encoding and readout RF data acquisition in the volume of patient anatomy. The method also includes acquiring a plurality of slices of an image of the volume of patient anatomy within a plurality of cycles representing time period between successive beats of the patient's heart. The method also includes causing, by a control processor, accelerated acquisition of two or more slices of the plurality of slices within a quiescent phase of each of the plurality of cycles. The method further includes applying, by the control processor, one or more saturation areas proximate to a target volume of the patient anatomy.