EDUCATION IN HEART
Non-invasive imaging
The use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to determine the aetiology of left ventricular disease and cardiomyopathy
1 Department of Cardiology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2 Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Correspondence to:
Tjeerd Germans, MD, Department of Cardiology, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; t.germans@vumc.nl
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
In the majority of patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, this condition results from ischaemic cardiomyopathy that is caused by coronary artery disease and subsequent ischaemia and myocardial infarction. However, normal coronary arteries are found in a substantial proportion of patients with LV dysfunction. While a patient is inevitably exposed to a small but considerable risk when performing a coronary angiogram, research has focused on seeking non-invasive methods to differentiate ischaemic from non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy (NICM), which requires an importantly different therapeutic approach than in the case of ischaemic cardiomyopathy. Moreover, NICM has a heterogeneous aetiology resulting from a complex interplay between predisposed genetic constitution and the detrimental effects of infectious and/or toxic agents on the function of myocardium. Consequently, further optimisation of treatment in NICM patients warrants determination of the underlying cause(s) of NICM.
In the last decade, important progress has been made in determining the aetiology of
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