Clinical research has revealed men and women often have different presentations for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This includes sex differences in terms of symptom presentation, diagnostic imaging and lab values. This may result in poor outcomes for women, whose symptoms do not match the classic presentations in males suffering from coronary ischemia.

Computed tomography (CT) has long been the standard of care for imaging to plan radiation therapy (RT) treatments. 

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for cardiac assessment provides a radiation-free alternative to other commonly used modalities like computed tomography (CT) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Cardiac MRI (CMR) offers greater contrast and image clarity than CT, does not require use of a contrast agent and allows radiation-free perfusion imaging. The technology does, however, present challenges unseen with other modalities. It remains the most expensive of all imaging exams, largely thanks to the length and complications of the scan itself. Furthermore, the use of magnets has traditionally made MRI inaccessible for patients with implanted medical devices.

Consolidation of health information is key to providing a comprehensive patient record —not only for visibility across the continuum of care, but also as the record set for value-based care. The advent of the electronic medical record (EMR) has pushed organizations into consolidating and collecting as much clinical information as possible within a single contextual data library. As this data feeds into the clinical data library, it can be visualized as a component of the patient record within the EMR. Traditionally, this contextual data alone could be considered an organization’s health information library. However, clinical contextual data by itself represents only a partial view of the patient record.