The role of non-invasive imaging in cardiomyopathies

Non-ischemic cardiomyopathies (NICM) include various heart muscle diseases that are not caused by a obstruction in the coronary arteries due to atherosclerosis (coronary artery disease), high blood pressure, valvular disease and/or congenital heart disease. Even though most NICM are relatively uncommon they collectively represent a substantial part of the total burden of cardiovascular diseases worldwide. In the last two decades, CMR has become a valuable routine diagnostic imaging modality in the work-up and management of NICM (besides echocardiogram, CT- and/or PET-scan) due to its ability to assess both cardiovascular anatomy and function as well as the characterization of tissue in a non-invasive manner during one single examination. In this thesis, we aimed to further investigate the role of non-invasive imaging modalities, especially of CMR, within the diagnostic work-up and management of different NICMs.