title: Current clinical applications of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is unsurpassed in the evaluation of myocardial anatomy, function and mass. Myocardial perfusion pre- and post-stress, as well as late enhancement is increasingly used in the work-up for ischaemic heart disease, especially in establishing the presence of myocardial viability. Late enhancement patterns can contribute substantially to the diagnosis of myocarditis and various cardiomyopathies as well as infiltrative diseases and tumours. With their high incidence of cardiovascular disease, patients on the African continent could potentially benefit enormously from the proper utilisation of this exciting, continually evolving and versatile technique, via thorough didactic and clinical training as well as interdisciplinary co-operation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Steve Biko Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa. leonie@scholtzrad.co.za.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Scholtz
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Steve Biko Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarkin
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Steve Biko Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lockhat
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results