In recent years magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has enriched the technological potential available for the characterization of cardiovascular pathologies, adding substantial advantages to other non-invasive techniques. This technique, which is intrinsically digital and has reduced operator dependency, allows the performance of image analysis in a quantitative and reproducible manner.

The use of non-ionizing energy with the consequent absence of an environmental impact and of operator and patient biohazards makes MRI a winning technique when evaluating the risk - benefit ratio in comparison to other imaging methods.

In virtue of its added diagnostic value and inherent refinements that allow construction of two- and three-dimensional images, MRI is gaining a primary role in the histopathological and physiopathological understanding of a large number of pathologies concerning the heart and vessels.

This text is addressed both to MRI operators seeking specific technical information and to clinicians who wish to have a better understanding of the diagnostic and management advantages that MRI can offer.

This book presents the main cardiac pathologies, providing a helpful guide featuring clinical cases and electronic supplementary material. There are several systematic books on cardiac magnetic resonance, which approach the different pathologies and related pathophysiology in a general manner, and these are useful for readers at an early stage in their medical careers. However, when it comes to individual patients (during the acquisition of images and reporting activities) there is no book providing operative protocols or systematic descriptions of details to look for. In the eight chapters (Cardiomyopathies, Myocarditis, Ischemic Heart Disease, Valvular Heart Diseases, Cardiac Masses, Pericardial Diseases, Congenital Heart Disease, and Miscellanea), the individual pathology is illustrated with a clinical case. The cases are divided into four sections: An introduction with a short medical history and the purpose of the diagnostic CMR A detailed CMR acquisition protocol CMR images, indicating purpose, method, analysis and meaning of the image, as well as videos. Concluding paragraph with the final diagnosis reached on the basis of the findings obtained in each image This book, collecting one hundred one clinical cases covering a broad spectrum of cardiac diseases, is an invaluable tool for radiologists and cardiologists.

In recent years magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has enriched the technological potential available for the characterization of cardiovascular pathologies, adding substantial advantages to other non-invasive techniques. This technique, which is intrinsically digital and has reduced operator dependency, allows the performance of image analysis in a quantitative and reproducible manner. The use of non-ionizing energy with the consequent absence of an environmental impact and of operator and patient biohazards makes MRI a winning technique when evaluating the risk - benefit ratio in comparison to other imaging methods. In virtue of its added diagnostic value and inherent refinements that allow construction of two- and three-dimensional images, MRI is gaining a primary role in the histopathological and physiopathological understanding of a large number of pathologies concerning the heart and vessels. This text is addressed both to MRI operators seeking specific technical information and to clinicians who wish to have a better understanding of the diagnostic and management advantages that MRI can offer.