Dear readers,
Over the last few years, there has been a constantly growing body of evidence on the relevant role of CT in the assessment of cardiac valve dysfunctions and lesions. The usefulness of CT has been acknowledged in the setting of morphological and functional evaluation of both native and prosthetic valves and in pre-procedural planning.
These topics are discussed in detail in this month’s Focus on by Prof. Loewe. The main defects occurring in the aortic and mitral valves and successfully detected by CT, including stenosis, regurgitation and aortic valve calcifications, are extensively presented with the aid of very suggestive CT images. Furthermore, a wide section is dedicated to the fundamental role of CT in the diagnosis and follow-up of prosthetic valve endocarditis, also addressed in the selected papers.
The essential advantage provided by contrast-enhanced CT in the measurement of aortic valve calcifications and, consequently, in the accurate evaluation of the severity of valve damage is shown in the first clinical case presented below, whereas the second one describes another application of CT, specifically in the follow-up after minimally invasive aortic valve repair.
We remind you that suggestions for topics to be covered in future issues of this newsletter are welcomed. Please send us your proposals at editorial@public.pixelentropy.eu/mdct-new.
From the public.pixelentropy.eu/mdct-new team
