Visualization of anomalous origin and course of coronary arteries in 748 consecutive symptomatic patients by 64-slice computed tomography angiography.

Background: Coronary artery anomalies (CAAs) are currently undergoing profound changes in understanding potentially pathophysiological mechanisms of disease. Aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of anomalous origin and course of coronary arteries in consecutive symptomatic patients, who underwent cardiac 64-slice multidetector-row computed tomography angiography (MDCTA).

Methods: Imaging datasets of 748 consecutive symptomatic patients referred for cardiac MDCTA were analyzed and CAAs of origin and further vessel course were grouped according to a recently suggested classification scheme by Angelini et al.

Diagnostic accuracy of quantitative cardiac MRI evaluation compared to stress single-photon-emission computed tomography.

Background: Cardiac MRI (cMRI) perfusion is a promising non-invasive tool to assess myocardial ischemia. The accuracy of quantitative cMRI perfusion has been recently demonstrated, but to date no previous study has compared this technique with stress single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) based on cMRI compared with SPECT.