Diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Current status of MRI

MRI has become an imaging option in the workup of coronary artery disease. Usually three techniques are combined to address the question of myocardial ischemia and viability: Cine cardiac imaging for the assessment of wall motion and cardiac function; first pass perfusion imaging during maximal vasodilatation for the detection of myocardial ischemia and late enhancement imaging for visualization of myocardial scars. This approach allows the assessment of inducible subendocardial myocardial ischemia as well as of the extend of prior myocardial infarction. Non-ischemic causes of myocardial damage can be differentiated from coronary artery disease within the same examination. Results from cardiac MRI are relevant in the risk assessment for major cardiac events. Direct visualization of coronary arteries is inferior to cardiac CT. MR coronary angiography is not recommended as a routine diagnostic tool in the workup of coronary artery disease. MRI is superior in myocardial contrast resolution to CT. Additionally, it has a superior spatial resolution in comparison to the myocardial SPECT or PET. Cardiac MRI is technically demanding and thereby limited in its availability compared to myocardial SPECT or cardiac CT. (orig.)