Bands in the Heart: Multimodality Imaging Review.

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Cardiac Anatomy
• Diagnostic Radiology

Background:

• Cardiac chambers can contain multiple bandlike structures.
• These bands are classified as normal variants, aberrant structures, or pathologic entities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review cardiac bands visualized within cardiac chambers.
• To discuss the role of multimodality imaging in their characterization and clinical significance.

Main Methods:

• Review of various imaging modalities: echocardiography, CT, MRI, and invasive angiography.
• Analysis of band appearances across different imaging techniques.

Main Results:

• Normal structures include crista terminalis, moderator band, and papillary muscles.
• Aberrant structures include false tendons and accessory mitral valve tissue.
• Pathologic entities include double-chambered ventricles and cor triatriatum.

Conclusions:

• Multimodality imaging is crucial for identifying, localizing, and characterizing cardiac bands.
• Imaging helps differentiate benign findings from pathologic conditions with hemodynamic consequences.
• Accurate characterization aids in distinguishing bands from cardiac masses and evaluating secondary effects.