Diagnosis of acute and late cardiotoxicity from cancer therapeutics has become increasingly important as the scope of cardio-oncology increases exponentially, both in terms of the number of people affected and the types of therapies it encompasses. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a tool that can offer unparalleled diagnostic information compared with other imaging modalities, but its utilization is often delayed, at the expense of patient care, due to the need for insurance pre-authorization. This paper highlights situations in which CMR is preferred as the diagnostic modality and provides examples of diagnoses more likely to be approved by insurance companies. It also provides specific cardio-oncology diagnoses or questions to help the clinical cardio-oncologist navigate the pre-authorization process.
Keywords: 2D, 2-dimensional; ACC, American College of Cardiology; CAD, coronary artery disease; CMR, cardiac magnetic resonance; CTRCD, cancer treatment–related cardiac dysfunction; ECV, extracellular volume; GLS, global longitudinal strain; ICI, immune checkpoint inhibitors; LGE, late gadolinium enhancement; LV, left ventricular; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; MACE, major adverse cardiovascular event; RV, right ventricular; cardiac magnetic resonance; cardio-oncology; cardiotoxicity; chemotherapy; left ventricular dysfunction; pre-authorization.
© 2021 The Authors.