Role of basic and advanced imaging in cardiomyopathies

Abstract

Basic and advanced imaging plays a pivotal role in cardiomyopathies (CMP), not only for determining the diagnosis but also for assessing prognosis, guiding patient management, detecting disease progression, evaluating treatment, and screening asymptomatic relatives of individuals affected by familial forms of the disease. Echocardiography is an optimal, low-cost and highly reproducible noninvasive diagnostic tool that can often provide a comprehensive evaluation of the typical morphological and functional characteristics of CMP. Furthermore, it is the imaging approach of choice for CMP follow-up. Advanced noninvasive imaging techniques, such as cardiac magnetic resonance, computed tomography, and nuclear imaging can be useful in selected and more challenging cases and display an important role in risk stratification of patients with CMP.