Doctors have always struggled with the question of whether their
patients will suffer a heart attack in the near future. Magnetic
resonance imaging of the heart may provide just the answer.
Heart attack is the most frequent cause of death in the western
world. Doctors are using tables and imaging methods to predict the
risk of an attack. Magnetic resonance imaging is a recently developed
method of acquiring images of the heart. It provides high resolution
images with plenty of information, without any harmful radiation. This
method - which has been used in children's heart disease for many
years - is able to improve prediction of a hazardous event in a large
group of patients. During the yearly meeting of the International
Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance and the imaging
specialists of the European Society of Cardiology in Rome from
February 2nd to 4th two milestone papers will be presented.
Researchers working with Dr. Greg Hundley from the Wake Forrest
University School of Medicine found, that a stress test with magnetic
resonance imaging identifies individuals with a high risk of a
myocardial infarction or death within the group of patients with chest
pain symptoms. In a different study by the group of Dr Raymond Kwong
at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA researchers used
magnetic resonance imaging to find a subgroup of patients with
diabetes most likely to suffer a hazardous event.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the heart is a risk free method to
identify patients at risk of heart attack or death.
The Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (www.scmr.org) is
the International Society for cardiologists, radiologists, technicians
and scientists aiming at the development of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
of the heart. The Working Group on Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
of the European Society of Cardiology
(www.escardio.org/bodies/WG/wg26/) is the subgroup of Magnetic
Resonance Imaging specialists within the European Society of
Cardiology.
