FAC 2025 Congress: Dr. Javier López-Opitz brought stress cardiac MR and restrictive cardiomyopathy to Mendoza

Functional or anatomical test? That question, central to the work-up of chronic coronary syndrome, was the starting point of the presentation by Dr. Javier López-Opitz, INCIC member, at the 42nd National Congress of Cardiology of the Argentine Federation of Cardiology (FAC), held on 29–31 May 2025 in Mendoza, Argentina.

Invited by the organising committee, the cardiologist and cardiac imaging specialist gave two talks, both focused on what cardiac MR brings to clinical decision-making.

Stress CMR in chronic coronary syndrome

In the first, “Chronic coronary syndrome: functional or anatomical test? The value of stress cardiac MR”, Dr. López-Opitz presented his team’s experience with stress cardiac MR at Clínica INDISA.

Through cases, the presentation showed how a single exam combines myocardial perfusion at peak stress with late gadolinium enhancement, and how the correspondence between both findings (the so-called match) guides interpretation. It also showed tissue findings that MR can characterise, such as fatty metaplasia.

The role of CMR in restrictive cardiomyopathy

His second talk, “Restrictive cardiomyopathy: the role of cardiac MR”, addressed what the technique contributes to the assessment of this group of heart muscle diseases.

Looking back, Dr. López-Opitz described the sessions as excellent and thanked the organising committee for the invitation. His participation was summed up in the hashtag that accompanied his post: #whyCMR.