Noninvasive imaging of coronary arteries: current and future role of multi-detector row CT.

While invasive imaging techniques, especially selective conventional coronary angiography, will remain vital to planning and guiding catheter-based and surgical treatment of significantly stenotic coronary lesions, the comprehensive and serial assessment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic stages of coronary artery disease (CAD) for preventive purposes will eventually need to rely on noninvasive imaging techniques. Cardiovascular imaging with tomographic modalities, including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging, has great potential for providing valuable information. This review article will describe the current and future role of cardiac CT, and in particular that of multi-detector row CT, for imaging of atherosclerotic and other pathologic changes of the coronary arteries. It will describe how tomographic coronary imaging may eventually supplement traditional angiographic techniques in understanding the patterns of atherosclerotic CAD development.