CHAPTER 3 Choice of Imaging Techniques
Cardiovascular non-invasive imaging has become an important component in the diagnosis and guidance of therapy in patients with cardiovascular disease.At present, the four main non-invasive imaging techniques are echocardiography, nuclear imaging with single photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and multi-slice computed tomography. All of these non-invasive imaging modalities have witnessed a rapid technological development and allow visualization of virtually all aspects of the cardiovascular system. While their increased use may potentially improve diagnosis and therapeutic decision making, it has simultaneously led to uncertainty as to which technique should be used when, and in which patient.
The aim of this chapter is to provide some examples on how to integrate the various imaging modalities in the management of patients. Two specific disease states, namely the patient with stable chest pain suspected for coronary artery disease presenting at outpatient clinic, and the patient with chronic heart failure, are used as examples. While the proposed approaches and algorithms are not meant to represent guidelines, they may serve as an illustration for the potential implementation of the various imaging techniques in diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making processes.
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