Cardiovascular Imaging for Guiding Interventional Therapy in Structural Heart Diseases

Abstract

Development of interventional methods has revolutionized the treatment of structural cardiac diseases. Given the complexity of structural interventions and the anatomical variability of various structural defects, novel imaging techniques have been implemented in the current clinical practice for guiding the interventional procedure and for selection of the device to be used. Three– dimensional echocardiography is the most used imaging method that has improved the threedimensional assessment of cardiac structures, and it has considerably reduced the cost of complications derived from malalignment of interventional devices. Assessment of cardiac structures with the use of angiography holds the advantage of providing images in real time, but it does not allow an anatomical description. Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE) and intracardiac ultrasonography play major roles in guiding Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) or Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) closure and device follow-up, while TEE is the procedure of choice to assess the flow in the Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) and the embolic risk associated with a decreased flow. On the other hand, contrast CT and MRI have high specificity for providing a detailed description of structure, but cannot assess the flow through the shunt or the valvular mobility. This review aims to present the role of modern imaging techniques in pre-procedural assessment and intraprocedural guiding of structural percutaneous interventions performed to close an ASD, a PFO, an LAA or a patent ductus arteriosus.