Noninvasive diagnosis of coronary artery disease

摘要

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the most common diseases that accounts for a considerable part of health care reimbursement. Thus, noninvasive diagnosis of CAD is likewise of pivotal importance for medical care today. NONINVASIVE DIAGNOSIS OF CAD: In this review, the authors present the entire spectrum of noninvasive diagnostic methods available for CAD starting with a Ergomedescription and discussion of the simplest and most important clinical approaches (patients' complaints, risk factors, electrocardiogram, and treadmill test). The established imaging modalities for diagnosing CAD (echocardiography, stress echocardiography, and scintigraphy including the SPECT and PET technique) are presented outlining their specific advantages and disadvantages. Finally, the authors discuss the most recent imaging modalities for the diagnosis of CAD (multislice computed tomography [MSCT] and magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]). MSCT allows for performing high-quality noninvasive coronary angiography, whereas MRI enables exact visualization of myocardial function, perfusion, and viability. CONCLUSION: The comprehensive assessment possible with MSCT and MRI and future developments will change the significance and importance of the conventional diagnostic methods for the diagnosis of CAD in the near future.