The world’s largest killers are cardiovascular diseases, which claim 17.1 million lives each year, according to the World Health Organization. A class of diseases that affect the cardiovascular system and involve the heart or blood vessels, they include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. When the heart or blood vessels function abnormally, a person increases their risk for heart attack, cardiac rhythm problems, heart failure, stroke, and even sudden death. The results of cardiovascular diseases can not only decrease the quality of one’s life, but also their life expectancy. However, not only are many of these diseases preventable, as causes include physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and tobacco usage, they are also detectable through cardiac radiology. Cardiac imaging tests like MRIs and CTs help physicians get an inside look the heart and vessels in order to detect problems or disease.

As a particularly beneficial way to evaluate the cardiovascular system, MRIs are used in the detection of ischemic heart disease, myocardial disease, pulmonary artery disease, and congenital heart disease. By using radio-frequency waves and large magnets, they produce quality pictures of the body’s internal structures. MRIs have the capability to create moving pictures of the heart as it is beating, thereby revealing abnormalities in cardiac chamber contraction and blood flow patterns. This imaging method enables physicians to look at images of the cardiovascular system from different angles, allowing them to assess complex anatomic abnormalities better than other imaging methods. They also allow for the areas of the heart that are not receiving enough blood from the coronary arteries to be identified, as well as areas of the heart that may have become damaged due to a heart attack.

CTs are particularly useful way to evaluate the coronary arteries, pulmonary veins, myocardium, thoracic aorta, pericardium, and cardiac masses. Combining X-ray images with computer technology, they produce cross-sectional pictures to visualize cardiac anatomy. These images can reveal problems in the pulmonary veins, along with those with heart function and valves. CTs can show if there are any blood clots in the lungs or calcium buildup in the coronary arteries, which is indicative of coronary heart disease. Physicians can use CTs to detect abnormalities that may be occurring in the aorta that can lead to a patient experiencing an aneurysm or dissection. CTs can also be used along with contrast dye to highlight the coronary arteries on an x ray, helping a physician to see whether or not arteries have become narrowed or blocked.