Cardiovascular MRI in Congenital Heart Disease

Book excerpt: The last 10 years has seen explosive expansion of the number of centres performing cardiov- cular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. The majority of this expansion has been in the ? eld of adult ischaemic imaging, but congenital heart disease remains one of the main indications for CMR. Importantly, the greatly improved survival of patients with congenital heart disease gives us a burgeoning adult population living with the sequelae of the disease (grown-up c- genital heart disease – GUCH). Without previous experience or formal training, the interpretation of CMR images of patients with congenital heart disease can be dif? cult. The main aim of this book is to create a portable resource that offers ef? cient access to high-quality MR (and where appropriate, CT) images of the common congenital and structural heart abnormalities. We hope that by prov- ing key images for each condition and a clear interpretation of the MR appearances, we will improve the reader’s understanding of the conditions, facilitate their interpretation of images and optimise the planning of the imaging protocols during their own practice of congenital CMR. As with any publication from a single institution, the contents of this book represent our own practice. We have not written a de? nitive or exhaustive description of the conditions.