| Summary: | The complex and reciprocal relationship between the brain and the heart has
gained increasing attention under the concept of neurocardiology. Myocardial
injury is common in cerebrovascular disease, and cardiovascular complications are
the second leading cause of death after stroke. Cardiac computed tomography (CT)
is a fast and reliable non-invasive tool for the assessment of cardioembolic
sources. Compared to single energy CT, spectral/dual energy cardiac CT improves
tissue characterization and also leads to significant reductions in contrast
volume. In this review article, we portray the potential clinical applications of
spectral CT in neurocardiology, focusing in the enhanced diagnosis of
cardioembolic sources and cardiovascular risk assessment of patients with stroke,
including improved detection of thrombus, identification of subtle myocardial
disease, and pulmonary complications within the same session.
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