Contemporary cardiac MRI in chronic coronary artery disease

Abstract

Chronic coronary artery disease remains an unconquered clinical problem, affecting an increasing number of people worldwide. Despite the improved understanding of the disease development, the implementation of the many advances in diagnosis and therapy is lacking. Many clinicians continue to rely on patient's symptoms and diagnostic methods, which do not enable optimal clinical decisions. For example, echocardiography and invasive coronary catheterisation remain the mainstay investigations for stable angina patients in many places, despite the evidence on their limitations and availability of better diagnostic options. Cardiac MRI is a powerful diagnostic method, supporting robust measurements of crucial markers of cardiac structure and function, myocardial perfusion and scar, as well as providing detailed insight into myocardial tissue. Accurate and informative diagnostic readouts can help with guiding therapy, monitoring disease progress and tailoring the response to treatment. In this article, the authors outline the evidence supporting the state-of-art applications based on cardiovascular magnetic resonance, allowing the clinician optimal use of this insightful diagnostic method in everyday clinical practice.