MR imaging of the heart: functional imaging

To date, most applications of cardiovascular MRI relate to the evaluation o f major vessels rather than the heart itself. However, MRI plays a major ro le in the evaluation of specific types of cardiovascular pathology, namely intracardiac and paracardiac masses, pericardial disease, and congenital he art disease. In addition, because the visualization of cardiovascular anato my with MR is non-invasive and permits three-dimensional analysis but also allows functional assessment of the cardiac pump: it is clear that MRI will have a growing and significant impact over the next years. We review some of the technical aspect of cardiac MRI and describe the current and potenti al clinical and investigative applications of this new methodology.