Clinical application of cardiac CMR

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is an important clinical tool that aids in the diagnosis and management of patients with cardiomyopathy. With its ability to assess morphologic and physiologic myocardial characteristics in the same imaging session, CMR can effectively rule out less common causes of cardiomyopathy, including cardiac hemochromatosis, amyloidosis, and arrhythmogenic right ventricular tachycardia. The combination of cine function, myocardial perfusion at rest and under stress, and late gadolinium enhancement provides a strong assessment that can establish the cause of the cardiomyopathy as well as guide therapy in cases of ischemic cardiomyopathy. CMR can also identify microvascular obstruction in acute myocardial infarction. This technique can be especially helpful in the diagnosis of conditions such as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, cardiac sarcoidosis, and myocarditis. It can also be used to evaluate patients with chest pain and pericardial diseases.