[Cardiac MR imaging in arrhythmogenic heart diseases].

Introduction: Cardiac arrhythmias are assessed with a combination of history, clinical examination, electrocardiogram, Holter monitor, if necessary supplemented by invasive cardiac electrophysiology. In ischemic heart disease (IHD) coronary angiography is performed in addition.
Methods: Echocardiography is usually the primary imaging modality. MRI is increasingly recognized as an important investigation allowing more accurate cardiac morphological and functional assessment.
Results: Approximately one-fifth of deaths in Western countries are due to sudden cardiac death, 80% of which are caused by arrhythmias. Typical causes range from diseases with high prevalence (IHD in men 30%) to myocarditis (prevalence 1-9%) and rare cardiomyopathies (prevalence HCM 0.2%, ARVC 0.02%, Brugada syndrome approx. 0.5%). The characteristic MRI features of arrhythmogenic diseases and the new aspects of characteristic distribution of late enhancement allow etiologic classification and differential diagnosis.
Conclusion: MRI represents an important tool for detection of the underlying cause and for risk stratification in many diseases associated with arrhythmias.