Valvular heart disease: Multidetector computed tomography evaluation

Abstract Heart valve disease is a clinical problem that has been studied with classical imaging techniques like echocardiography and MRI. Technological advances in CT make it possible to obtain static and dynamic images that enable not only a morphological but also a functional analysis in many cases. Although it is currently indicated only in patients with inconclusive findings at echocardiography and MRI or those in whom these techniques are contraindicated, multidetector CT makes it possible to diagnose stenosis or regurgitation through planimetry, to evaluate and quantify valvular calcium, and to show the functional repercussions of these phenomena on the rest of the structures of the heart. Given that multidetector CT is being increasingly used in the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease, we think it is interesting for radiologists to know its potential for the study of valvular disease.