Noninvasive imaging of prosthetic cardiac devices

The major advances in cardiovascular care can be linked to the combined growth of advanced imaging modalities and the variety of treatment options available for patients with complex structural, acquired and congenital, valvular, myocardial and aortic diseases. Paralleling this growth are the number and spectrum of complications - such as device failures and infections - that these patients will inevitably encounter. The keys to successful implementation of advanced cardiac therapy are the real-time images, 3D reconstructions, and the hemodynamic and tissue profiles that can be obtained to evaluate these patients and their devices. We will review the roles of echocardiography, multidetector computed tomography and MRI in the evaluation of normal and abnormal cardiac device function.