Role of Cardiac MR Imaging in Cardiomyopathies

Cardiac MR imaging has made major inroads in the new millennium in the diagnosis and assessment of prognosis for patients with cardiomyopathies. Imaging of left and right ventricular structure and function and tissue characterization with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) as well as T1 and T2 mapping enable accurate diagnosis of the underlying etiology. In the setting of coronary artery disease, either transmurality of LGE or contractile reserve in response to dobutamine can assess the likelihood of recovery of function after revascularization. The presence of scar reduces the likelihood of a response to medical therapy and to cardiac resynchronization therapy in heart failure. The presence and extent of LGE relate to overall cardiovascular outcome in cardiomyopathies. A major role for cardiac MR imaging in cardiomyopathies is to identify myocardial scar for diagnostic and prognostic purposes.