Multimodality Imaging in Congenital Heart Disease: an Update

Abstract

The increasing number of survivors of congenital heart disease (CHD) has been paralleled by advancement of imaging modalities used for the ongoing assessment of these patients. There has been a large body of literature describing new approaches to non-invasive assessment of CHD. We will review new applications of well established as well as novel techniques for the management and understanding of CHD.

Emerging Techniques in Imaging, Modelling and Visualization for Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy

“…This is achieved by the simultaneous measurement of two doppler signals, either from two crossing beams from different transducers, or from a single transducer with two different in-plane receivers [159]. This technique is of great use in clinical practice for the qualitative assessment of blood flow and tissue displacement [160] and used in early studies of patientspecific hemodynamics to impose inlet and outlet flow boundary conditions [161,162].…”

Congenital Heart Diseases in Pregnancy

“…Because of its high sensitivity and specificity, safety, and noninvasiveness, Doppler echocardiography is becoming a primary diagnostic tool in congenital heart diseases screening. 6,26 Determination of heart location, followed by four-chamber view, left ventricular outflow tract view, right ventricular outflow tract view, and three-vessel view or three-vessel tracheal view are the steps of echocardiography. 6 The purpose of these examinations are to determine the cardiac shape and the cardiac abnormalities.…”

“…Right ventricular outflow tract view is used to determine right heart outflow, which includes pulmonary valve, pulmonary stenosis, and transposition of the great arteries. 6,26,28 Three-vessels view and three-vessel tracheal view can be utilized to determine any congenital heart defects and to confirm defects detected in fourchamber-view ultrasonography. Three-vessel-view can also be used to help in determining the diagnosis of syndromic chromosomal abnormalities.…”

Compact pediatric cardiac magnetic resonance imaging protocols

“…Congenital heart disease (CHD) arises in approximately 1 in 100 live births, while cardiomyopathy affects 1 in 100,000 children, at a rate similar to the more common pediatric cancers [1,2]. Given the variety and complexity of disease, often nonspecific signs and symptoms, and persistence of morbidity among survivors into adulthood, imaging has become essential in the diagnosis and long-term follow-up of these disorders [3,4]. Echocardiography remains the first-line modality, although its operatordependence and potential visualization limitations, particularly for intricate malformations and postsurgical anatomy, might necessitate additional complementary modalities [3][4][5].…”

“…Given the variety and complexity of disease, often nonspecific signs and symptoms, and persistence of morbidity among survivors into adulthood, imaging has become essential in the diagnosis and long-term follow-up of these disorders [3,4]. Echocardiography remains the first-line modality, although its operatordependence and potential visualization limitations, particularly for intricate malformations and postsurgical anatomy, might necessitate additional complementary modalities [3][4][5]. Cardiac catheterization has for more than 50 years been considered the reference standard for assessing CHD, but its invasive nature discourages its routine diagnostic use [5].…”