European heart journal cardiovascular Imaging
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2014
ReviewRole of imaging in assessment of atrial fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation: state-of-the-art review.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in the world. Despite the large number of studies focused on the causes and mechanisms of AF, it remains a clinical challenge. ⋯ However, a validated noninvasive method for assessment of atrial fibrosis in clinical practice is lacking. In this review, we aim to present an update about the origins and mechanisms of atrial remodelling, particularly focusing on atrial fibrosis, and compare imaging techniques that can detect atrial changes and greatly contribute to the clinical management of patients with AF.
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging · Dec 2013
ReviewImaging-based right-atrial anatomy by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and three-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography: correlations with anatomic specimens.
Nowadays computed tomography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and tridimensional transoesophageal echocardiography provide anatomic images of right-atrial structures with an impressive richness of anatomical details. It is therefore surprising that these techniques are not routinely used as complementary tools in teaching anatomy. ⋯ The success of these procedures is, in fact, related to an accurate anatomical pre-procedural assessment. In this review, we describe the normal anatomy and variants of those right-atrial structures relevant for both ablationists and interventionalists.
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging · Dec 2013
Comparative StudyEvaluation of myocardial mechanics with three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in heart transplant recipients: comparison with two-dimensional speckle tracking and relationship with clinical variables.
Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) is limited by its inability to track tissue motion in three dimensions. This is particularly relevant in heart transplant recipients, in whom marked translational motion of the transplanted heart is present. We aimed to compare 3-dimensional (3D)- and 2D-STE-derived strain parameters, and to identify clinical features associated with myocardial mechanics in transplant recipients. ⋯ Examination of LV mechanics by 3D- and 2D-STE deformation parameters in heart transplant recipients yields significantly discordant results. 3D-STE-derived LSt is independently associated with NYHA class, suggesting a clinically important relationship between functional status and myocardial mechanics.
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Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging · Dec 2013
Comparative StudyNon-invasive indices of right ventricular function are markers of ventricular-arterial coupling rather than ventricular contractility: insights from a porcine model of chronic pressure overload.
To investigate the physiological correlates of indices of RV function in a model of chronic pressure overload. ⋯ Usual indices of RV function are associated with ventricular-arterial coupling rather than with ventricular contractility in a model of chronic pressure overload.