Diagnosis of cardiac abnormalities in patients with nonischemic tachyarrhythmias: additional value of MR imaging.

Purpose: To assess the contribution of cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the evaluation of patients with nonischemic tachyarrhythmias and equivocal diagnosis following echocardiography and cardiac angiography.

Methods and results: Twenty-five patients with nonischemic tachyarrhythmias and equivocal diagnosis were studied using MR imaging. Before the MR examination all patients underwent two-dimensional echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. The type of additional information, obtained with MR imaging, ranged from confirming a suspected diagnosis in 5 patients (20%) to the identification of new important anatomic or functional information, allowing a correct diagnosis in 18 patients (72%). In two patients (8%) the MR diagnosis was incomplete.

Conclusion: MR imaging may be an important additional diagnostic tool in the evaluation of cardiac abnormalities in patients with nonischemic tachyarrhythmias.