Advanced clinical applications of cardiac computed tomography and novel echocardiographic modalities

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the current era. Current guidelines base their recommendations for diagnosis and management of cardiovascular diseases on several important parameters such as left ventricular (LV) dimension and function, presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and valve function. Accurate assessment of these parameters is therefore essential for patients with or at risk of cardiovascular diseases and requires the use of invasive and non-invasive testing. Non-invasive testings are in principle preferable, especially for a first-line approach, being safer and generally widely available and easy to perform. The present thesis highlights the use of non-invasive imaging modalities, namely cardiac computed tomography and advanced echocardiography analysis (speckle tracking and calibrated integrated backscatter) to diagnosis and guide the treatment of various cardiovascular diseases.