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Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis pp 433–451Cite as

Noninvasive Imaging of the Vulnerable Myocardium: Cardiac MRI and CT Based

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Part of the book series: Contemporary Cardiology ((CONCARD))

Abstract

Multiple noninvasive imaging modalities can be used for the evaluation of the vulnerable myocardium. In this chapter, the applications of advanced cardiac imaging with cardiac MRI and cardiac CT are reviewed for the assessment of myocardial perfusion, viability, infarct size, and myocardium at risk. The accurate characterization of the vulnerable myocardium can provide important information that can guide therapeutics by detection of myocardial ischemia under stress conditions, the detection and characterization of myocardial infarct (size, transmural and circumferential extent), or the assessment of myocardium at risk (myocardial edema, microvascular obstruction, “grey zone”). Modalities with high spatial resolution and excellent tissue characterization, such as cardiac MRI and CT, will permit to obtain this type of information. Animal and human data will be reviewed and will be placed in clinical perspective, taking into account the limitations of each modality. Finally, we aim to demonstrate that the search and characterization of the vulnerable myocardium can help and provide important information in the overall characterization and management of the vulnerable patient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Cardiac MRI-PET-CT Program, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Ricardo C. Cury, Anand Soni & Ron Blankstein

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  1. Ricardo C. Cury
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  2. Anand Soni
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  1. Endothelix, Inc., El Rio 8275, Houston, 77054, USA

    Morteza Naghavi

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Cury, R.C., Soni, A., Blankstein, R. (2011). Noninvasive Imaging of the Vulnerable Myocardium: Cardiac MRI and CT Based. In: Naghavi, M. (eds) Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis. Contemporary Cardiology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-179-0_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-179-0_32

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