Cardiomyopathy MRI
Cardiomyopathy Microchapters |
Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
Guidelines |
2020 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy |
Case Studies |
Cardiomyopathy MRI On the Web |
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Cardiomyopathy MRI |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Lina Ya'qoub, MD; Edzel Lorraine Co, DMD, MD[2]
Cardiac MRI has a great resolution for myocardium with very high sensitivity in identifying infiltrative cardiomyopathies, including sarcoidosis and amyloidosis, as well as ARVD and LV non-compaction among other causes.
MRI has a good temporal and spatial quality and resolution, and thus it provides comprehensive information in the evaluation of cardiomyopathy. It has the benefit of not requiring radiation or contrast for giving detailed information in cardiomyopathies. It is also helpful for measuring cardiac volumes and function, and it provides good soft-tissue characterization which is helpful to evaluate cardiomyopathies. The best evaulation of soft tissue by MRI can be provided by an array of sequences like T1, T2, T2, short tau inversion recovery (STIR), steady state free precession (SSFP), delayed enhancement, perfusion, and T1 mapping. All these detailed sequenced information enable the physician to differentiate different kind of cardiomyopathy types. The negative aspect for performing cardiac MRI is due to it's cost which makes it not being available widely, performing professionals that are required to obtain it, and important contraindications that it has in patients with pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), metal stents, claustrophobia and severe renal dysfunction.