Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Identifies High-Risk Systemic Sclerosis Patients with Normal Echocardiograms and Provides Incremental Prognostic Value.

Background: Acute cardiac events are a significant contributor to mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). However, echocardiographic evaluation may be deceptively normal during an acute presentation. We hypothesized that in diffuse SSc patients presenting with acute cardiac events and a normal echocardiogram, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) would have incremental diagnostic/prognostic value.

Silent Myocardial Perfusion Abnormalities Detected by Stress Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance in Antiphospholipid Syndrome: A Case-Control Study.

To examine the prevalence of silent myocardial ischemia and fibrosis in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), using stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). Forty-four consecutive APS patients without prior cardiac disease (22 primary APS, 22 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)/APS, mean age 44 (12.9) years, 64% women) and 44 age/gender-matched controls were evaluated using CMR at 1.

T1 and T2 Mapping in Cardiology: "Mapping the Obscure Object of Desire".

The increasing use of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is based on its capability to perform biventricular function assessment and tissue characterization without radiation and with high reproducibility. The use of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) gave the potential of non-invasive biopsy for fibrosis quantification. However, LGE is unable to detect diffuse myocardial disease.