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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Jul 13.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Probl Cardiol. 2009 Apr;34(4):145–217. doi: 10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2008.12.002

TABLE 6.

Indications for cardiac magnetic resonance

Congenital heart disease
General
Initial evaluation and follow-up of adult congenital heart disease
Specific

  1. Assessment of shunt size (Qp/qs)

  2. Anomalies of the viscero-atrial situs:

    Situs anomalies with complex congenital heart disease

  3. Anomalies of the atria and venous return

    Anomalous pulmonary venous return, especially in complex anomalies and cor triatriatum

    Anomalous systemic venous return

    Systemic or pulmonary venous obstruction following intra-atrial baffle repair or correction of anomalous pulmonary venous return

  4. Anomalies of the ventricles

    VSD associated with complex anomalies

    Supracristal VSD

    Evaluation of right and left ventricular volumes, mass, and function

  5. Anomalies of the semilunar valves

    Pulmonary regurgitation

    Supravalvular aortic stenosis

Coronary artery disease

  1. Assessment of global ventricular (left and right) function and mass

  2. Detection of coronary artery disease

    Coronary MRA (anomalies)

  3. Acute and chronic myocardial infarction

    Detection and assessment

    Myocardial viability

Pericardial disease, cardiac tumors, cardiomyopathies, and cardiac transplants

  1. Detection and characterization of cardiac and pericardiac tumors

  2. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

    Apical

  3. Dilated cardiomyopathy

    Differentiation from dysfunction related to coronary artery disease

  4. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (dysplasia)

  5. Siderotic cardiomyopathy (in particular thalassemia)

Valvular heart disease

  1. Cardiac chamber anatomy and function

  2. Quantification of regurgitation

MRA, magnetic resonance angiography; Qp/qs, ratio of pulmonary to systemic flow; VSD, ventricular septal defect.

(Reprinted with permission from Pennell DJ, Sechtem UP, Higgins CB, et al. Clinical indications for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR): Consensus Panel report. Eur Heart J 2004;25:1940–65.)