The international journal of cardiovascular imaging
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Aug 2016
Bilateral symmetry of human carotid artery atherosclerosis: a multi-contrast weighted MR study.
The systemic nature of atherosclerotic disease may entail an association in disease severity between left and right carotid arteries. However, the etiology of plaque features in high-risk lesions is presumably attributed to local risk factors. We explored the symmetry of plaque morphology and composition across a broad range of atherosclerotic disease severities. ⋯ Only 16 of 47 participants with CAS = 4 on at least one side had the same CAS on the contralateral side. Plaque morphology, calcification, and LRNC may develop symmetrically, but there is a relatively poor correlation for lipid content between sides. The weak symmetry of IPH and CAS indicates that the development of atherosclerosis into high-risk lesions may be regulated by local rather than systemic factors.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Aug 2016
Area strain from 3D speckle-tracking echocardiography as an independent predictor of early symptoms or ventricular dysfunction in asymptomatic severe mitral regurgitation with preserved ejection fraction.
The indication for surgery in asymptomatic severe mitral regurgitation (SMR) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is controversial. We sought to study 3D myocardial mechanics in this population and test 3D-speckle tracking (3DST) parameters as possible predictors of events. 45 asymptomatic patients with SMR and LVEF >60 % and 20 control individuals without cardiac disease underwent 3DST echocardiography. MR group additionally underwent further clinical monitoring. ⋯ A cutoff value of AS greater than -41.6 % reached a hazard ratio of 4.41 (p = 0.004) for prediction of events. In asymptomatic patients with SMR and preserved ejection fraction, 3DST derived AS is a promising tool for predicting the development of heart failure. This finding may be useful for guiding the selection of patients for early mitral valve repair/replacement surgery even if they are asymptomatic.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jul 2016
Normal ventricular diameter ratio on CT provides adequate assessment for critical right ventricular strain among patients with acute pulmonary embolism.
There is variability in guideline recommendations for assessment of the right ventricle (RV) with imaging as prognostic information after acute pulmonary embolism (PE). The objective of this study is to identify a clinical scenario for which normal CT-derived right-to-left ventricular (RV/LV) ratio is sufficient to exclude RV strain or PE-related short-term death. This retrospective cohort study included 579 consecutive subjects (08/2003-03/2010) diagnosed with acute PE with normal CT-RV/LV ratio (<0.9), 236 of whom received subsequent echocardiography. ⋯ The final model included five variables (c-statistic = 0.758, over-fitting bias = 2.52 %): congestive heart failure (adjusted odds ratio, OR 4.32, 95 % confidence interval, CI 1.88-9.92), RV diameter on CT >45 mm (OR 3.07, 95 % CI 1.56-6.03), age >60 years (OR 2.59, 95 % CI 1.41-4.77), central embolus (OR 1.96, 95 % CI 1.01-3.79), and stage-IV cancer (OR 1.94, 95 % CI 0.99-3.78). If these five factors were all absent (37.1 % of the population), the probability that "CT-RV/LV ratio is sufficient to exclude RV strain/PE-related short-term death" was 0.97 (95 % CI = 0.95-0.99). Normal CT-RV/LV ratio plus readily obtained five clinical predictors were adequate to exclude RV strain or PE-related short-term mortality.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jul 2016
Right atrial emptying fraction non-invasively predicts mortality in pulmonary hypertension.
Right-sided heart failure is the most common cause of death in pulmonary hypertension (PH). Echocardiographic measurements of right atrial (RA) size are associated with worse outcome in PH, however the association between RA function and death in PH has not been well-described. 160 PH patients (World Health Organization groups 1-5) underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) and right heart catheterization (RHC) within 6 weeks of each other at a tertiary care academic medical center in the United States. We measured cMRI RA maximum and minimum volumes indexed to body surface area and calculated RA emptying fraction (RAEF). ⋯ RAEF was directly correlated in univariate analyses with right ventricular (RV) ejection fraction, left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV size, cardiac index, absence of tricuspid and pulmonic regurgitation, absence of pericardial effusion, estimated glomerular filtration rate, 6-minute walk distance, and pulmonary arterial oxygen saturation, whereas it was inversely correlated with death, BNP, heart rate, mean RA pressure, mean PA pressure, pulmonary and systemic vascular resistance, RV size, and RA size. Using multivariate analyses, RAEF had a robust inverse association with death after adjusting for measured risk factors (HR per 5 % change in RAEF: 0.83 [95 % CI 0.73-0.94], p = 0.003). In PH patients, decreased RAEF by cMRI is independently associated with worse survival after adjustment for other risk factors.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jun 2016
Multicenter Study Comparative Study Observational StudyIncremental prognostic value of computed tomography in stroke: rationale and design of the IMPACTS study.
This study was designed to determine the prognostic value of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in ischemic stroke patients and to identify any incremental risk stratification benefits of CCTA findings compared with coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) and traditional Framingham risk scores (FRS) in ischemic stroke patients without chest pain. IMPACTS is a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study in which at least seven centers in Korea will participate. All participants will be enrolled in this study after providing informed consent. ⋯ We plan to analyze and identify the CCTA predictors of MACEs. In addition, we will compare several models used to assess independent relationships between the variables and MACEs using a shared frailty model and therefore determine the incremental prognostic value of CCTA findings compared with either the CACS or FRS. The results of IMPACTS will provide valuable information for risk stratification with CCTA in ischemic stroke patients without chest pain.