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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 7 Tesla
Published on: January 6, 2019
Postmortem cardiac magnetic resonance in sudden cardiac death
Benedetta Guidi1, Giovanni Donato Aquaro2, Marco Gesi3
1Clinical and Translational Science Research Department, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56124, Pisa, Italy. benedettaguidi@virgilio.it.
Abstract:
Postmortem imaging is increasingly used in forensic practice as good complementary tool to conventional autopsy investigations. Over the last decade, postmortem cardiac magnetic resonance (PMCMR) imaging was introduced in forensic investigations of natural deaths related to cardiovascular diseases, which represent the most common causes of death in developed countries. Postmortem CMR application has yielded interesting results in ischemic myocardium injury investigations and in visualizing other pathological findings in the heart. This review presents the actual state of postmortem imaging for cardiovascular pathologies in cases of sudden cardiac death (SCD), taking into consideration both the advantages and limitations of PMCMR application.
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