Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging

In the last 15-20 years, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has emerged as a useful non-invasive tool for the complete assessment of cardiovascular morphology and function in the absence of ionizing radiation. This chapter provides a concise overview of the techniques for the CMR imaging, the applications of these techniques, and the use of CMR in the planning of interventional procedures. There are multiple CMR sequences that can provide morphologic, cine, perfusion, viability, and velocity-encoded flow images. Cardiac tagging is a widely available technique that produces a deformable reference grid that allows visualization and quantification of regional heterogeneity in myocardial contraction in the setting of coronary artery disease (CAD) and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. CMR may be used for assessing cardiac structure and function and blood flow through the heart, great vessels, cardiac shunts, and extracardiac conduits in individuals with simple and complex congenital heart disease (CHD) before and after surgical repair.