EVALUATION OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION DISORDERS OF THE GREAT VESSELS BY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

摘要

Cardiac imaging can be accomplished by a variety of methods including traditional and digital radiography, echocardiography, fluoroscopy (cardiac catheterization), nuclear imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT). Thesemodalities differ with respect to cost of the procedure and type of information provided. Their value often resides in the structural and functional information they provide which is largely a consequence of the spatial, temporal, and contrast resolutionachievable with each of these modalities. Computerized tomography has certain attributes that make this imaging modality particularly useful for the evaluation of the great vessels, coronary arteries, pulmonary vasculature and pulmonary parenchyma. Recent improvements in spatial and temporal resolution are broadening the application of CT to include the assessment of myocardial perfusion, evaluation of left and right ventricular function, quantification of the severity of mitral and aortic valvular heart disease, and the elucidation of the anatomic details of certain congenital heart defects that are difficult to image using echocardiography. Unlike echocardiography and MRI, CT does not display direct estimates of regional blood flow.