A review of cardiac imaging modalities

Cardiac catheterization has been the "gold standard" to evaluate cardiac anatomy and severity of physiological dysfunction. However, this procedure is limited by its invasive nature. Recent technological advances have provided noninvasive cardiac imaging methods that delineate cardiac structures and assess myocardial perfusion, function, and metabolism. Echocardiography is used in the assessment of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, LV dilatation, LV wall motion, and the cardiac valves. Radioisotope imaging methods are used to evaluate myocardial perfusion while blood pool scintigraphy is used to assess myocardial function. The purpose of this article is to describe current noninvasive and invasive imaging technologies available for the diagnosis and evaluation of cardiac disorders including the chest radiograph, echocardiography, radioisotope imaging methods, blood pool scintigraphy, and cardiac catheterization. Future technologies (positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrafast cardiac computed tomography) are also discussed.