Noninvasive Imaging of Myocardial Ischemia - Softcover

From the reviews:

Doody's Rating: 3 stars

Reviewer: Seth Jay Kligerman, MD, MS(University of Colorado School of Medicine)

Description: This book describes in detail the various imaging modalities used to evaluate myocardial ischemia. Additionally, the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia is discussed in detail.

Purpose: The purpose of the book, according to the author, is to discuss the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia as well as the various radiologic modalities used in its evaluation. These are worthy objectives, given the recent advances in the field over the past few years. The author meets his objectives.

Audience: According to the author, the book is written for any practitioner interested in noninvasive imaging of cardiac ischemia. I believe the book is intended primarily for nonradiologists interested in cardiac imaging. The authors are credible authorities.

Features: The first part of the book covers basic cardiac anatomy and physiology and the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia. The second part covers the various imaging modalities (echocardiography, radionuclide imaging, CT, and MRI) used in the evaluation of myocardial ischemia. As a radiologist, I enjoyed the detailed discussion on the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia. However, the book is limited in its discussion of MRI pulse sequences used in cardiac MR.

Assessment: Overall, this is an excellent book that provides a detailed look at the use of different radiologic imaging studies in the evaluation of myocardial ischemia. Additionally, the discussion on the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia is a nice addition for radiologists and nonradiologists.

Score: Weighted Numerical Score: 84

"Noninvasive Imaging of Myocardial Ischemia is a concise review of current multimodality imaging techniques used for the evaluation of ischemic heart disease. The intended audience includes physicians and trainees involved in cardiac imaging, particularly radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and cardiologists. ... the book successfully gathers together a large amount of cardiac imaging research, digests it, and provides the reader with a concise picture of current utilization and future trends. I would recommend ... as a useful guide to the present status of the field." (Paul R. Jolles, Radiology, Vol. 244 (3), 2007)

Non-invasive imaging plays a very important role in the assessment of patients investigated for coronary artery disease, providing valuable information for diagnosis and aiding management decisions. It covers a broad spectrum of investigations including radionuclide imaging, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography.

Progress towards the most efficacious means of assessing a patient is relentless, with recent years seeing an important shift in emphasis from invasive to noninvasive techniques. This informative book compares the various modalities in a practical diagnostic environment. It thus provides a forum for fertile discussion, bringing the discussion of these various methodologies together in one reference for the first time. The narrative flow is unique and will ensure that all levels of medical practitioners with an interest in cardiac imaging will find this an unparalleled resource for use in guiding their practice.