Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Acute Myocarditis

Cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) is an established noninvasive diagnostic tool for detection of acute myocarditis. Diagnosis of myocarditis at 1.5T is currently made with the help of the Lake Louise Criteria (two of three criteria have to be positive in order to establish the diagnosis). Although these criteria are accepted and widely used in clinical routine, several disadvantages exist. Newer parameters like myocardial T1 and T2 mapping, extracellular volume fraction (ECV) and myocardial strain analysis have the potential to complement or even replace some of the Lake Louise Criteria and further enhance the diagnostic performance of cardiac MR in patients suspected of having acute myocarditis. The aim of our study is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of a comprehensive cardiac MR protocol in patients with acute myocarditis.