Advantages of using magnetic resonance in cardiology

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) is a not invasive diagnostic imaging tool for the detection of the most common heart diseases. It creates images from atomic nuclei with uneven spin using radiowaves in the presence of a magnetic field. For clinical purposes, magnetic resonance (MR) is performed using hydrogen-1, which is abundant in water and fat. Radiofrequency waves excite the area of interest to create tissue magnetization that decays (relaxation) and after a short period is induced to release energy as a radio signal. These echoes are converted with Fourier transformation into images of spatially resolved radio signals. Relaxation is quantified in spatially orthogonal directions as T1 and T2, which allows tissue characterization to serve as a powerful clinical tool. Recently CMR has become the gold standard for evaluating myocardial function, volumes, and scarring. It is an indispensable tool in the evaluation of congenital heart disease, heart failure, cardiac masses, pericardial disease, and coronary artery disease. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging is unique in its comprehensive tissue characterization, including assessment of myocardial oedema, myocardial siderosis, myocardial perfusion, and diffuse myocardial fibrosis. This review is focused on advantages of the detection of suspected cardiomyopathies, in particular in the case of the dilatative cardiomyopathy, the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the right ventricular arrhythmia cardiomyopathy that have been examined in this tractation.