Aims: Awareness of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is growing due to increasing evidence for providing relevant functional and morphologic information. This single-centre survey aimed at providing descriptive data about the clinical application and potential impact of CMR.
Methods and results: All 2598 clinically indicated CMR exams were prospectively registered during 1 year in one single centre. Detailed data of the individual patient and procedural information of each exam were collected. In a simulation of CMR-based clinical decision-making in a subgroup of 250 cases, the influence of CMR on further diagnostic testing and answering the clinical question was estimated. Inflammatory (31%) and coronary (28%) heart disease were the most frequent indications. The exams were fast (98% < 60 min), robust (0.4% non-diagnostic image quality), and mostly used contrast media (76%). Anxiolytic sedation was required to overcome claustrophobia in 3.8%. Two per cent of all exams were terminated prematurely. No severe adverse events occurred. All moderate adverse events (0.5%) were associated with stress medication (1.7% of all stress tests) or contrast media (0.15% of all contrast enhanced studies). In the simulation, CMR influenced the individual selection of diagnostic testing and provided valuable information to establish or exclude a diagnosis.
Conclusion: This single-centre experience demonstrated a versatile application of CMR at reasonable time expense, safety, and robustness. The simulation of CMR-based decision-making indicated that CMR may influence patient management.