Top Things to Know: 2010 Expert Consensus Document on Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
Published: May 17, 2010
- Because the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) technology is capable of providing all of the necessary information to diagnose and treat heart disease, it is considered the standard for cardiovascular diagnostic evaluation.
- CMR assesses cardiac or vascular anatomy, function, perfusion, and tissue characteristics in a highly reproducible manner during a single examination.
- The purpose of this consensus document is to provide a multidisciplinary approach for comparing CMR with other imaging modalities and identifying new uses for CMR in clinical practice where current guidelines are not available.
- The benefits of using CMR include high resolution quality, non-invasiveness, accuracy, versatility and no ionizing radiation. The disadvantages of using CMR include limited availability, the cost, and the lack of outcome data.
- CMR may be useful in assessing valvular heart disease and discovering changes in LV volumes in patients with valvular dysfunction.
- CMR has evolved into a useful diagnostic tool in assessing coronary artery anomalies and aneurysms. And in some specialized medical centers, CMR can identify patients with multivessel coronary artery disease without exposure to ionizing radiation or iodinated contrast medium.
- CMR may be used for assess abnormalities of the LV and RV myocardium, determining the presence of ischemic disease for the purpose of understanding the etiology of LV systolic or diastolic dysfunction.
- CMR may be used as a primary form of testing to help identify early myocardial ischemia in patients.
- CMR may be useful in assessing whether a patient has LV dysfunction or hypertrophy, or suspected forms of cardiac injury not related to ischemic heart disease. In addition, CMR can help to confirm the etiology of the cardiac dysfunction in heart failure patients where there is an unclear diagnosis.
- This consensus document is clinically-oriented and provides background information for use by multiple disciplines. It includes recommendations for appropriate use of CMR for evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of various heart diseases and conditions.
Citation
Hundley WG, Bluemke DA, Finn JP, et al. ACCF/ACR/AHA/NASCI/SCMR 2010 expert consensus document on cardiovascular magnetic resonance: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Expert Consensus Documents. Circulation 2010. Published online before print, May 17, 2010. 10.1161/CIR.0b013e3181d44a8f.