The international journal of cardiovascular imaging
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Nov 2018
Comparative StudyDo CTA measurements of annular diameter, perimeter and area result in different TAVI prosthesis sizes?
Incorrect prosthesis size has direct impact on patient outcome after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure. Currently, annular diameter, area or perimeter may be used for prosthesis size selection. The aim was to evaluate whether the use different annular dimensions would result in the selection of different prosthesis sizes, when assessed in the same TAVI-candidate during the same phase of a cardiac cycle. ⋯ Prosthesis size derived from area was always in agreement with at least one other parameter in all cases. Aortic annulus area appears to be the most robust parameter for TAVI-prosthesis size selection, regardless of the specific prosthesis size. Short aortic annulus diameter may underestimate the prosthesis size, while use of annular perimeter may lead to size overestimation in some cases.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Oct 2018
Investigation of elastic features of aorta and color M-mode flow propagation velocity (APV) of descending aorta in the patients with ischemic and non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.
Aortic flow propagation velocity (APV) is a novel echocardiographic parameter used in coronary artery disease. It has also been used for the evaluation of aortic stiffness. In the present study, APV was measured in patients with ischemic and non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and was compared with the parameters of aortic stiffness such as aortic distensibility (AD) and aortic strain (AS). ⋯ APV was found to be significantly correlated with AS (r = 0.645, p < 0.001) and AD (r = 0.604, p < 0.001). In ROC analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) value for APV was 0.999 (p = 0.000) for detection of patients ischemic DCM and non-ischemic DCM. APV may be considered to be a novel and a simple echocardiographic marker, for both, distinguishing ischemic from non-ischemic DCM as well as for the presence of dilated cardiomyopathy with or without critical coronary artery disease.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Jul 2018
Comparative Study Observational StudyThe feasibility of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion performed by transesophageal echocardiography throughout heart surgery and its interchangeability with transthoracic echocardiography.
Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) is a robust measure of RV function, but the performance of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) measured TAPSE during surgery is not well established. We aim to evaluate feasibility of various TEE views before, during and after surgery. Furthermore, we compare performance of individual TEE measurements depending on view and method (AMM- and M-mode as well as 2D) as well as TAPSE measured using TEE with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) TAPSE. ⋯ TDI demonstrated a high reliability throughout surgery. RV function can be evaluated by TAPSE and TDI using TEE during surgery. TEE values from the transgastric view demonstrated high performance throughout surgery and a good agreement with TTE TAPSE measurements.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Apr 2018
Relationship between airflow obstruction and coronary atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals: evaluation by coronary CT angiography.
Airflow obstruction is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, the causal mechanisms linking airflow obstruction with higher incidence of cardiovascular events remain elusive. We evaluated the relationship between airflow obstruction, a key feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and prevalence, extent, and severity of coronary atherosclerosis in a large cohort of asymptomatic subjects. ⋯ Airflow obstruction was associated with higher CACS (p = 0.043), ABS (p = 0.002), ABOS (p = 0.017), SIS (p = 0.003), and SSS (p = 0.002). Multivariable analyses adjusted for conventional cardiovascular risk factors revealed that airflow obstruction was independently associated with presence of CAD (odds ratio 1.673, confidence intervals [CI] 1.002-2.789, p = 0.048). In this asymptomatic population, the presence of airflow obstruction was associated with a greater prevalence, extent, and severity of coronary atherosclerosis and was seen to be an independent predictor of the presence of CAD.
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Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Feb 2018
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyQuantitative coronary plaque analysis predicts high-risk plaque morphology on coronary computed tomography angiography: results from the ROMICAT II trial.
Semi-automated software can provide quantitative assessment of atherosclerotic plaques on coronary CT angiography (CTA). The relationship between established qualitative high-risk plaque features and quantitative plaque measurements has not been studied. We analyzed the association between quantitative plaque measurements and qualitative high-risk plaque features on coronary CTA. ⋯ In quantitative analysis, segments with high-risk plaque had higher total plaque volume, low CT attenuation plaque volume, plaque burden and remodeling index. Quantitatively assessed low CT attenuation plaque volume (odds ratio 1.12 per 1 mm3, 95% CI 1.04-1.21), positive remodeling (odds ratio 1.25 per 0.1, 95% CI 1.10-1.41) and plaque burden (odds ratio 1.53 per 0.1, 95% CI 1.08-2.16) were associated with high-risk plaque. Quantitative coronary plaque characteristics (low CT attenuation plaque volume, positive remodeling and plaque burden) measured by semi-automated software correlated with qualitative assessment of high-risk plaque features.