[The remodelling of the heart in heart failure: from thoracic radiography to magnetic resonance].

: Congestive heart failure represents the most common medical hospital discharge diagnosis, and can occur in patients with preserved indexes of left ventricular systolic function, even in absence of patent coronary or valvular heart disease. The present review examines the role of imaging techniques in the diagnosis and follow-up of these patients. Imaging of the heart has undergone dramatic advances with the development and refinement of new imaging modalities such as echocardiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance and radionuclide emission tomography. The role of "low-tech" modalities such as chest roentgenogram is discussed. The possibilities offered by ultrasounds or magnetic resonance in tissue characterization are then compared with the actual capability of cardiac imaging in detecting myocardial tissue alterations (oedema, ischemia, myocarditis, etc.) and/or degeneration (fatty degeneration, fibrosis, amyloidosis, etc.). Finally, the potential use in modern clinical medicine of magnetic resonance spectroscopy and positron emission tomography to study myocardial metabolism and cellular function are discussed.