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Fortunately, the technique has experienced during this time a continuous development that demanded a new updated version of the book

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Academic year: 2022

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Six years have passed since the edition of our Atlas of Practical Cardiac Applications of M R I . Fortunately, the technique has experienced during this time a continuous development that demanded a new updated version of the book. One of the consequences of this growing process has been the adoption of the term Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR.) to refer to the technique, and this is why the tide of the present version of the book has changed slighdy in relation to the first one.

Merits of C M R were evident from its beginning, early in the eighties. There was a time, however, when C M R ran the risk of becoming a luxury diagnostic tool, either confined to the experimental field or limited to serve as an occasional resource for selected cHnical entities, only appHed by even more selected specialists. Things have changed, for the benefit of cardiology, during the last few years, particularly since C M R has proved to be a very useful technique also in the study of ischemic heart disease, which constitutes the main issue of concern in cardiology today. As a consequence, C M R is starting to play a relevant role in clinical practice, and it has become an issue of interest for the educated cardiologist. Evidence for this is the increasing body of research articles which, on C M R in myocardial infarction, for instance, has more than doubled since 1999 compared with the five-year previous period, or the pubhcation of major textbooks on C M R , up to three in the last two years. Also, there is a strong academical interest on the technique, with a growing number of specialized meetings and activities from associations aimed to spread knowledge on the technique, as the Society for Cardio- vascular Magnetic Resonance, or the Working Group on C M R of the European Society of Cardiology.

Updated sources of information are thus needed for chnicians interested in the field and, particularly, for those demanding to be initiated in it. The present version of this Adas is intended to be one of these sources. Most of the authors are clinical cardiologists devoted to the field of cardiac imaging who have the privilege of being experienced in those tech- niques that are ultimately useftil on the cUnical problems they are dealing with. During the last 25 years, we have learnt, as every cardiologist involved in cardiac imaging has done, that the actual value of a technique Ues in its ability to

give reliable answers to relevant cHnical ques- tions. When such a technique is, in addition, unique in doing that, then it becomes essential.

Echocardiography has fulfilled these require- ments in many aspects for many years, and its role is not disputed. C M R is gaining the same respect also in a good deal of issues, and today is no longer an auxiUary tool but a first Hne method in many instances. The important point is to learn which ones. W e hope that the examples presented in this book will help clinicians to learn when a C M R exam is useful and, also, how to plan and read C M R studies in every particular case.

The emergence of radiological techniques, Uke C M R or computed tomography, in the field of diagnostic cardiology, has raised the question of which specialist should be in charge of these studies. The technical complexity of C M R , and the wide variety of pulse sequences and acquisition strategies, made reasonable the direct participation of radiological teams. O n the other hand, the even more complex spectrum of cardiovascular disorders and, parti- cularly, the different cHnical relevance of some of their aspects, seem to demand a cardiological view. In practice, excellent teams performing C M R may be found among radiologists specialized in cardiovascular diseases and, also, among cardiologists devoted to imaging, a close cooperation between them being the optimal approach. In our case, we have always agreed with our radiologist colleagues on the colla- borative nature of this task. W e are in debt to them, and we feel mandatory a mention of the radiology departments where the studies illus- trating this book have been obtained:

• Radiology Department (Dr. Jordi Ruscal- leda). Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.

• Corachan Magnetic Resonance Center (Dr. Carlos Alexander), Clinica Corachan, Barcelona, Spain.

• Balearic Magnetic Resonance Center (Dr.

Dario Taboada), Clinica Femenia, Palma de MaUorca, Balearic Islands, Spain.

• Clinica Ruber and Hospital Ruber Inter- nacional, Madrid, Spain

GuiUem Pons-Llado Cardiac Imaging Unit Department of Cardiology Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau Barcelona, Spain

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