The year in coronary artery disease

Abstract

Imaging plays a central role in the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease. Imaging is used for the detection of underlying coronary artery stenoses in patients with stable or chronic chest pain, for the assessment of myocardial scar and viability, for assessing prognosis, or for predicting complications. Echocardiography, nuclear imaging, cardiac magnetic resonance, and-more recently-computed tomography are powerful tools to provide answers to these questions. New technology, new contrast agents, and newly developed imaging protocols widen the applicability and increase accuracy of these imaging modalities, and new clinical studies provide information on their diagnostic potential and their therapeutic as well as prognostic value. The relative strengths and weaknesses of the different imaging modalities influence the selection of the most appropriate imaging approach in different clinical scenarios. This article outlines some of the most important developments of the past 12 months in the field of echocardiography, nuclear imaging, cardiac magnetic resonance, and computed tomography as they pertain to coronary artery disease.