Advanced Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging using Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Diagnosis and Evaluation of Coronary Artery Disease

The purpose of this review article is to describe the essential characteristics of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of coronary artery disease in comparison with other noninvasive imaging modalities. Recently, technical advances and improvements in cardiac MRI have provoked increasing interest regarding its clinical role in the diagnosis and evaluation of coronary artery disease. Major advantages of cardiac MRI in comparison with other noninvasive imaging tests include its excellent spatial resolution and the characterization of myocardial tissue. These features allow the accurate assessment of ventricular volume and function, as well as clear delineation of infarcted tissue from normal myocardium. Further, myocardial ischemia can also be assessed by cardiac MRI upon pharmacological stress testing. In addition, coronary MR angiography has emerged as a possible alternative to X-ray angiography for visualizing the coronary arteries. The capability to perform comprehensive evaluations of ventricular function and myocardial perfusion and viability, as well as to assess the coronary anatomy, is a major strength of cardiac MRI.