Coronary imaging

Abstract

Due to its high soft tissue contrast, high spatial resolution, and lack of ionizing radiation, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a promising imaging modality for non-invasive imaging of the coronary arteries. However, because of the high spatial resolution and large coverage required for visualization of the coronary arteries, scan times are relatively long. This can result in imaging artefacts from cardiac and respiratory motion. Usually, coronary CMR is therefore performed with respiratory and cardiac compensation methods. CMR has shown promising results for the detection of coronary stenosis, when compared against invasive and computed tomography coronary angiography, but in clinical practice, CMR is more often used to define the course of anomalous coronary arteries and for the detection and tracking of coronary artery aneurysms. CMR also allows imaging of the coronary vessel wall and coronary plaque imaging, as well as the detection of coronary thrombus. These emerging methods may have a future role in risk stratification of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.