Circulation. Cardiovascular imaging
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Circ Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2013
Multicenter Study Comparative StudySex differences in aortic valve calcification measured by multidetector computed tomography in aortic stenosis.
Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is the intrinsic mechanism of valvular obstruction leading to aortic stenosis (AS) and is measurable by multidetector computed tomography. The link between sex and AS is controversial and that with AVC is unknown. ⋯ In this large AS population, women incurred similar AS severity than men for lower AVC loads, even after indexing for their smaller body size. Hence, the relationship between valvular calcification process and AS severity differs in women and men, warranting further pathophysiological inquiry. For AS severity diagnostic purposes, interpretation of AVC load should be different in men and in women.
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Circ Cardiovasc Imaging · Sep 2008
Multicenter Study123 I-mIBG scintigraphy to predict inducibility of ventricular arrhythmias on cardiac electrophysiology testing: a prospective multicenter pilot study.
Disturbances of autonomic function after infarction are associated with both total mortality and sudden death. Although many imaging techniques for assessing the cardiac autonomic nervous system have been studied, the clinical usefulness of these techniques remains uncertain. This exploratory pilot study examined the relationship between abnormalities of ventricular sympathetic innervation delineated by scintigraphic imaging with (123)I-mIBG and inducible ventricular tachyarrhythmias in patients with left ventricular dysfunction and previous myocardial infarction. ⋯ The standard indices of (123)I-mIBG imaging (H/M and innervation-perfusion mismatch score) are not predictive of EP test results. The association of (123)I-mIBG SPECT defect severity with EP test inducibility in this exploratory study will require confirmation in a larger cohort of patients.