Co-published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (JCCT), JACC and Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, the document addresses the correct indications and patient selection for CT assessment of PHVs, image acquisition, reconstruction and measurement protocols, and interpreting and reporting the CT findings.

“Cardiac Computed Tomography for Prosthetic Heart Valve Assessment” is co-authored by SCCT, the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR), the North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging (NASCI), the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI), and Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS).

According to the writing group, led by Ricardo Budde, MD, PhD, FSCCT, cardiac CT is a valuable, non-invasive imaging tool that uncovers the cause of PHV dysfunction in a way that is complementary to echocardiography.

“The document provides consensus statements by a group of international experts on how to perform, interpret and report cardiac CT scans performed for PHV assessment, based on best practices from the available literature and the expert experience,” said Dr. Budde, professor and principal investigator of Cardiovascular Imaging (CT) at the Erasmus MC Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine.

The authors – comprised of radiologists, cardiologists and cardiac surgeons – explained that determining the root cause of PHV dysfunction is vital to identify the correct treatment strategy, which differs for each case.

Top takeaways and key points:

• The CT acquisition protocol should be tailored to the individual patient taking into account the type and location of the PHV.
•  Almost all PHV types can be adequately assessed both dynamically and statically with CT using dedicated image reformations to optimize the viewing planes.
• Cardiac CT provides important information on the cause of PHV dysfunction that is complementary to echocardiography.

About the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography