Cardiac Computed Tomography in Congenital Heart Disease

Cardiac CT now has an established and central role in the diagnosis, preoperative management, and postoperative monitoring of CHD patients from birth to adulthood. In unrepaired CHD, the primary goals of CT are to delineate the extracardiac vasculature, coronaries, and noncardiac structures, often achievable with rapid, freebreathing acquisitions. In repaired CHD, CT provides an excellent depiction of postoperative complications and a ready alternative to MR imaging for surveillance of ventricular size and function and vessel diameters when ECG -gating is used. Modern CT scanners incorporating dual -source detectors, multispectral imaging, and other innovations, along with robust postprocessing tools, have helped continue to expand the reach of CT in CHD while overcoming traditional downsides of radiation and iodinated contrast exposure. With continued technological advances, the utility of CT in CHD throughout the lifespan should only continue to grow.