The clinical role of magnetic resonance in cardiovascular disease

Magnetic resonance is helpful in the diagnosis and assessment of cardiovascular disease. However, there are no published guidelines on the clinical role of the technique, although with the growing interest of clinicians in cardiovascular magnetic resonance their need is now pressing. The board of the European Society of Cardiology has created a Task Force to establish the current clinical role of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy in the diagnosis and assessment of diseases of the heart and great vessels. Because magnetic resonance is a multidisciplinary technique, the task force was composed of cardiologists, paediatric cardiologists and radiologists and these guidelines are jointly supported by the European Society of Cardiology and the Association of European Paediatric Cardiology. Task Force recommendations are based on evidence from published literature and from the clinical experience of its members. Whenever there is little published evidence for a recommendation this is indicated, but usually no recommendation is made in this circumstance. To strengthen the clinical value of the guidelines, the role of magnetic resonance is described alongside that of other imaging techniques, with emphasis on the relative role with respect to echocardiography. The rapid development of magnetic resonance means that its indications are expanding. Thus, these guidelines will require updating with time. The value of imaging techniques in individual circumstances is often defined as appropriate, acceptable, rarely justified, and not indicated. Consequently, the classification of the ACC/AHA Task Force on Assessment of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Cardiovascular Procedures has been adapted: