Evaluation of congenital heart disease by magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging has proven be useful in the assessment of patien ts with complex congenital heart disease and in the post-surgical follow-up of patients with corrected congenital heart disease. A thorough understand ing of the congenital cardiac malformations that can be encountered is need ed and the use of the sequential segmental analysis helps to standardize th e evaluation and diagnosis of (complex) congenital heart disease. After sur gical correction of congenital heart defects, patients must followed overex tended periods of time, because morphological and functional abnormalities may still be present or may develop. The use of echocardiography may be ham pered in these patients as scar tissue thorax deformities limit the acousti c window. Magnetic resonance imaging has proven to be advantageous in the f ollow-up of these post-surgical patients and with these of several differen t techniques the morphological as well as functional abnormalities can be e valuated and followed over time.