[Imaging of congenital heart defects with a focus on magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography].

CLINICAL ISSUE: Due to advances in diagnostics and therapy, the survival rate of patients with congenital heart defects is continuously increasing. The aim of this review is to compare various imaging modalities that are used in the diagnosis of congenital heart defects.

METHODS

Transthoracic echocardiography is the imaging method of choice in the presence of a congenital heart defect because of its wide availability and non-invasiveness. It can be complemented by transesophageal echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart and vessels close to the heart.

METHODICAL INNOVATIONS: The radiation exposure of CT examinations of the heart is continuously decreasing because of improved technologies. MRI is also being continuously optimized, e.g., by the acquisition of MR angiographies without contrast medium application or a thin three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the entire heart with the possibility of reconstruction in all spatial planes (whole-heart technique) as well as 2D to 4D flow.

PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATION: Due to the complexity of congenital heart defects and the variety of possible pathologies, the choice of imaging modality and its exact performance has to be coordinated in an interdisciplinary context and individually adapted.