TC y RM cardiovascular is an ambitious book published by an Argentine publisher that has taken special care in its presentation. The more than 40 contributors are mostly Latino, including several Spaniards, one of which is an editor.
The book is an extensive volume of nearly 500 pages and is divided into a section on the cardiac applications of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, and another on the study of vascular disease using the same techniques. Presumably, the work will mainly be consulted by cardiologists and radiologists, so the editors have prudently included a series of chapters in an introductory block devoted to basic radiological concepts that will be useful to cardiologists, as well as other chapters on the histology of atherosclerosis and the pathophysiology of ischemic heart disease, which will be useful for radiologists.
All the chapters are noteworthy for the excellent and profuse graphics, an essential feature of a work on cardiac imaging, and also for the clarity and currency of the concepts, which are supported by an extensive bibliography in each section. Supplementary material is also provided, including more than 100 mainly dynamic images, accessible via the internet, which completes the imaging information.
In short, this is a commendable effort that in our view has special merits, such as being the first Spanish-language work at this level and, especially, the multidisciplinary nature of the authors, which highlights the essential requirement for these techniques to be used to the greatest advantage, namely open collaboration between cardiologists and radiologists.
Magnetic resonance imaging is the most powerful diagnostic tool ever designed, and multidetector CT has reached truly staggering levels of resolution. Having demonstrated their enormous potential in cardiac applications, both techniques can currently be regarded as indispensable, as authoritatively noted by Prof. Valentín Fuster in the book's prologue. However, to ensure maximum benefit for cardiac patients, these techniques must be used in a way that integrates other techniques in daily use in cardiology, such as echocardiography. This first requires training of the physicians applying these techniques, and second, adequate management by those responsible for the various procedures, by establishing, for example, priority indications for each technique, which would provide a rational basis for diagnostic protocols. Therefore, we believe that we are on the verge of the creation of a new subspecialty bridging cardiology and radiology: cardiac imaging. Given its merits, this book will undoubtedly occupy a prominent place in the library of these units.