Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) in Myocardial Disease

Udo Sechtem ^1*, Heiko Mahrholdt ¹ and Holger Vogelsberg ¹

¹ Robert Bosch Krankenhaus, Germany

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: udo.sechtem{at}rbk.de.

Accepted 21 May 2006

Abstract

Patients presenting with cardiac disease usually become aware of their health problem by recognising one of three types of symptoms: signs of heart failure, chest discomfort or arrhythmias. Another group of patients may require more detailed work-up due to asymptomatic ECG- changes which appeared during a routine medical check- up. Patients presenting with heart related problems usually undergo an exercise stress test and transthoracic echocardiography. The results of these tests in combination with a careful history will distinguish between those with coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathies or other less common variance of cardiac problems. However, in a sub- group of patients it is difficult to identify the cause of the problem even after cardiac catheterisation and those patients often suffer from conditions where cardiac function is impaired but this impairment cannot be explained by coronary artery disease or abnormal loading conditions. It is in these patients where cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) will be clinically helpful to further characterise the pathophysiology underlying the patient's problem and help to make a diagnosis.

Keywords: Cardiac Magnetic Resonance, Myocardial Disease, CMR

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