Assessment of myocardial fibrosis with cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Diffuse interstitial or replacement myocardial fibrosis is a common feature of a broad variety of cardiomyopathies. Myocardial fibrosis leads to impaired cardiac diastolic and systolic function and is related to adverse cardiovascular events. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) may uniquely characterize the extent of replacement fibrosis and may have prognostic value in various cardiomyopathies. Myocardial longitudinal relaxation time mapping is an emerging technique that could improve CMR's diagnostic accuracy, especially for interstitial diffuse myocardial fibrosis. As such, CMR could be integrated in the monitoring and therapeutic management of a large number of patients. This review summarizes the advantages and limitations of CMR for the assessment of myocardial fibrosis.
(Copyright © 2011 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)