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Six years have passed since the edition of our
Atlas of Practical Cardiac Applications of MRI.
Fortunately, the technique has experienced
during this time a continuous development
that demanded a new updated version of the
book. One of the consequences of this
growing process has been the adoption of the
term Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
(CMR.) to refer to the technique, and this is
why the tide of the present version of the book
has changed slighdy in relation to the first one.
Merits of CMR were evident from its
beginning, early in the eighties. There was a
time, however, when CMR ran the risk of
becoming a luxury diagnostic tool, either
confined to the experimental field or limited
to serve as an occasional resource for selected
cHnical entities, only appHed by even more
selected specialists. Things have changed, for
the benefit of cardiology, during the last few
years, particularly since CMR has proved to be
a very useful technique also in the study of
ischemic heart disease, which constitutes the
main issue of concern in cardiology today. As a
consequence, CMR is starting to play a
relevant role in clinical practice, and it has
become an issue of interest for the educated
cardiologist. Evidence for this is the increasing
body of research articles which, on CMR in
myocardial infarction, for instance, has more
than doubled since 1999 compared with the
five-year previous period, or the pubhcation of
major textbooks on CMR, up to three in the
last two years. Also, there is a strong academical
interest on the technique, with a growing
number of specialized meetings and activities
from associations aimed to spread knowledge
on the technique, as the Society for Cardiovascular
Magnetic Resonance, or the Working
Group on CMR of the European Society of
Cardiology. |