Key words: chest pain, troponin, non-invasive imaging, cardiac MRI, diagnostics, prognosis

"Diagnostic evaluation of chest pain - The role of non-invasive cardiac imaging"

Chest pain is a common symptom and can be caused by both cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. Non-invasive diagnostics are increasingly seen as an essential part of diagnostic assessment in patients with chest pain, but inefficient and excessive should be avoided. This dissertation describes the role of non-invasive diagnostics in patients with acute and chronic chest pain. In summary, non-invasive diagnostics: 1) has no role in low risk acute chest pain, 2) can improve the selection for invasive cardiac catheterisations in case of acute chest pain and suspicion of a heart attack, 3) can identify low risk patients if the test result is "negative" in patients with chronic chest pain, 4) cardiac MRI can identify an acute heart attack.