European heart journal cardiovascular Imaging
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyEarly myocardial and skeletal muscle interstitial remodelling in systemic sclerosis: insights from extracellular volume quantification using cardiovascular magnetic resonance.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) may induce cardiac fibrosis and systo-diastolic dysfunction. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) can detect replacement myocardial fibrosis with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and interstitial myocardial fibrosis with T1 mapping techniques. The aim of the study was to detect subclinical cardiac involvement with CMR in paucisymptomatic SSc patients with no previous history of myocardial disease, comparing it with skeletal muscle remodelling. ⋯ SSc is associated not only with myocardial replacement fibrosis, as detected by LGE, but also with interstitial remodelling of the myocardium and skeletal muscles, as detected by an increased ECV also in patients with normal biventricular function, with potential diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic clinical implications.
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyTraditional and innovative echocardiographic parameters for the analysis of right ventricular performance in comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance.
Right ventricle fractional area change (RVFAC), tissue Doppler and M-mode measurements of tricuspid systolic motion [tricuspid Sm and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE)], and 3D echocardiography are the current non-invasive methods for the quantification of RV systolic function; RV deformation analysis by speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) has recently allowed the analysis of RV performance. Using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) as the reference standard, this study aimed at exploring the correlation between the traditional (fractional shortening, s'RV, TAPSE) and innovative (strain) echocardiographic parameters and RV ejection fraction (RVEF) measured by CMR. ⋯ In a heterogeneous group of patients referred to CMR evaluation, conventional (TAPSE, FAC, and tricuspid S') and novice (2D speckle-tracking-derived longitudinal strain) parameters of RV systolic function were compared and correlated with RVEF measured by MRI. All tested parameters were found to be independent predictors of reduced RVEF (<45%), but the strongest correlation was seen for the RV free-wall longitudinal strain.
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2015
Definitions for a common standard for 2D speckle tracking echocardiography: consensus document of the EACVI/ASE/Industry Task Force to standardize deformation imaging.
Recognizing the critical need for standardization in strain imaging, in 2010, the European Association of Echocardiography (now the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging, EACVI) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) invited technical representatives from all interested vendors to participate in a concerted effort to reduce intervendor variability of strain measurement. As an initial product of the work of the EACVI/ASE/Industry initiative to standardize deformation imaging, we prepared this technical document which is intended to provide definitions, names, abbreviations, formulas, and procedures for calculation of physical quantities derived from speckle tracking echocardiography and thus create a common standard.
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging · Dec 2014
Clinical value of echocardiographic Doppler-derived right ventricular dp/dt in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Right ventricular (RV) dp/dt is the instantaneous rate of RV pressure rise during early systole and is a surrogate marker of RV contractility. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of echocardiographic Doppler obtained RV dp/dt to predict long-term survival in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thrombo-embolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). ⋯ A reduced baseline RV dp/dt is a clear indicator of poor outcome independent of TAPSE in patients with PAH/CTEPH.
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging · Dec 2014
Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot suffer from intra- and inter-ventricular cardiac dyssynchrony: a cardiac magnetic resonance study.
Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) frequently have right bundle branch block. To better understand the contribution of cardiac dyssynchrony to dysfunction, we developed a method to quantify left (LV), right (RV), and inter-ventricular dyssynchrony using standard cine cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). ⋯ Patients with rTOF have intra- and inter-ventricular dyssynchrony, which can be quantified from standard cine CMR. This new approach can potentially help determine the contribution of dyssynchrony to ventricular dysfunction in future studies.