The international journal of cardiovascular imaging
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2016
Comparative StudyIn vivo semi-automatic segmentation of multicontrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance for prospective cohort studies on plaque tissue composition: initial experience.
Automatic in vivo segmentation of multicontrast (multisequence) carotid magnetic resonance for plaque composition has been proposed as a substitute for manual review to save time and reduce inter-reader variability in large-scale or multicenter studies. Using serial images from a prospective longitudinal study, we sought to compare a semi-automatic approach versus expert human reading in analyzing carotid atherosclerosis progression. Baseline and 6-month follow-up multicontrast carotid images from 59 asymptomatic subjects with 16-79 % carotid stenosis were reviewed by both trained radiologists with 2-4 years of specialized experience in carotid plaque characterization with MRI and a previously reported automatic atherosclerotic plaque segmentation algorithm, referred to as morphology-enhanced probabilistic plaque segmentation (MEPPS). ⋯ Factors associated with LRNC progression as detected by MEPPS review included intraplaque hemorrhage (positive association) and reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (negative association), which were consistent with previous findings from manual review. Automatic classifier for plaque composition produced results similar to expert manual review in a prospective serial MRI study of carotid atherosclerosis progression. Such automatic classification tools may be beneficial in large-scale multicenter studies by reducing image analysis time and avoiding bias between human reviewers.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2016
Atrial fibrillation is associated with hematopoietic tissue activation and arterial inflammation.
Inflammation is associated with the development of atrial fibrillation (AF). Activity in hematopoietic tissues, which produce inflammatory leukocytes, is closely related to systemic inflammation, arterial inflammation and cardiovascular events, but its relationship to AF is unknown. Using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, we examined the relationships between AF, splenic metabolic activity and vascular inflammation. ⋯ Aortic inflammation and splenic activity were highly correlated (Pearson R = 0.61, p < 0.001). Atrial fibrillation is associated with higher hematopoietic tissue activation and arterial inflammation. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms by which this cardio-splenic axis is implicated in AF.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2016
Natural history of atherosclerotic disease progression as assessed by (18)F-FDG PET/CT.
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of cardiovascular risk factors and plaque inflammation on the progression of atherosclerosis as assessed by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging with (18)F-radiolabled fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG). This study was designed as a retrospective cohort study. Patients who received a (18)F-FDG PET/CT scan and follow-up scan 9-24 months later without systemic inflammation or steroid medication were eligible for the study. (18)F-FDG PET/CT included a full diagnostic contrast enhanced CT scan. ⋯ Carotid lumen reduction was predicted by hypercholesterolemia (p = 0.008) while aortic lumen reduction was associated with BMI and mean (18)F-FDG uptake (p ≤ 0.005). Furthermore we observed a dose response relationship between the number of cardiovascular risk factors and calcified plaque volume progression in the aorta (p = 0.03). Findings from this study provide data on the natural history of atherosclerotic disease burden in multiple vascular beds and emphasize the value of morphological and physiologic information provided by (18)F-FDG PET/CT imaging.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2016
ReviewCardiac CT angiography for evaluation of acute chest pain.
Chest pain is the second most common emergency department (ED) presentation in the United States. Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) now plays an important role in the evaluation of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome in the ED setting. In this article, we review the available techniques focused on the use of CCTA to evaluate patients fosr coronary atherosclerosis for timely triage of acute chest pain.