title: [State of the art: new developments in cardiac imaging].
abstract: Cardiac imaging continues to reveal new anatomical and functional insights into heart disease. In echocardiography, both transesophageal and transthoracic three-dimensional imaging have been fully developed and optimized, and the value of the techniques that have increased our understanding of cardiac mechanics and ventricular function is well established. At the same time, the healthcare industry has released new devices onto the market which, although they are easier to use, have limitations that restrict their use for routine assessment. Tomography's diagnostic and prognostic value in coronary artery disease continues to increase while radiation exposure becomes progressively lower. With cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, myocardial injury and recovery in ischemic heart disease and following acute coronary syndrome can be monitored in exquisite detail. The emergence of new combined tomographic and gamma camera techniques, exclusively developed for nuclear cardiology, have improved the quality of investigations and reduced radiation exposure. The hybrid or fusion images produced by combining different techniques, such as nuclear cardiology techniques and tomography, promise an exciting future.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, España.
authors.forename: José F Forteza
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Albertí
authors.forename: José J Gómez
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: de Diego
authors.forename: Ricardo Vivancos
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: Jaume Candell
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Riera
authors.forename: Río Aguilar
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D057791:Cardiac Imaging Techniques / Q000639:trends*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000639:trends; D019560:Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional / Q000639:trends; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional; D018754:Ventricular Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology