To detect changes of right ventricular (RV) myocardial deformation in patients with systemic RV (SRV) and transposition of the great arteries (TGA) as compared with individuals without structural ...heart disease.
We performed a retrospective analysis of cine steady-state free precession cardiac magnetic resonance imaging sequences acquired using a 1.5 T scanner in short-axis and long-axis views in 25 patients with SRV (16 with atrial switch repair for D-TGA and 9 with congenitally corrected TGA; age range 19 to 68, 13 males). The control group consisted of 25 individuals without structural heart disease (age range 10 to 73, 14 males). Besides routine RV magnetic resonance imaging volumetry, mean longitudinal RV strain was measured on a 4-chamber view, and mean circumferential RV strain on 3 short-axis images (basal, midventricular, and apical) based on feature tracking. The strain parameters were statistically compared between patients with SRV and the control group.
Patients with SRV, compared with the control group, had significantly higher RV-indexed end-diastolic volume (122±40 vs. 70±9 mL/m2, P<0.001), lower RV ejection fraction (45±12% vs. 62±6%, P<0.001), and reduced mean longitudinal RV strain (-13.7±3.6% vs. -21.6±2.7%, P<0.001). There was no relevant difference between mean circumferential SRV strain in the basal and midventricular plane; however, in patients with SRV, mean circumferential strain was reduced at the apical level (-12.0±6.1% vs. -17.9±5.6%, P<0.001).
SRV failure could be explained by reduced longitudinal SRV strain caused by the longitudinal orientation of RV myocardial fibers. In patients with SRV, circumferential RV strain is only reduced in apical segments.
Cardiac tumors are neoplasms arising from or located in the heart or the pericardium. Although rare, primary cardiac tumors in children require an accurate and timely diagnosis. Most pediatric ...primary cardiac tumors are benign (around 90%). Echocardiography is the first imaging modality used due to its availability, noninvasiveness, inexpensiveness, and absence of ionizing radiation. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offer better soft tissue visualization as well as better visualization of extracardiac structures. A great advantage of MRI is the possibility of measuring cardiac function and blood flow, which can be important for obstructing cardiac tumors. In this article, we will offer a brief review of clinical, echocardiographic, CT, and MRI features of cardiac rhabdomyomas, fibromas, teratomas, and lipomas providing their differential diagnosis.
Magnetska rezonancija srca je neinvazivna dijagnostička metoda kojom se dobiva detaljan uvid u morfologiju i funkciju srca. Visoko je reproducibilna i iznimno precizna. Kardiovaskularne bolesti ...vodeći su uzrok smrti u svijetu. Kardiomiopatije definiramo kao poremećaj miokarda u kojem je miokard strukturalno i funkcionalno abnormalan u odsutnosti koronaropatije, hipertenzije, bolesti zalistaka i kongenitalnih bolesti srca koje bi uzrokovale toliki poremećaj. Uzevši u obzir da su kardiomiopatije često asimptomatske te da prvi simptom može biti iznenadna srčana smrt, jasna je potreba za točnom i pravovremenom dijagnozom. Pravovremeno liječenje može znatno produljiti životni vijek i kvalitetu života bolesnika. Danas je magnetska rezonancija srca postala nezaobilaznim dijelom dijagnostike i praćenja liječenja bolesnika s kardiomiopatijama. Osim dijagnostike i praćenja, magnetska rezonancija srca može ukazati na etiologiju i prognozu same bolesti. Danas su u upotrebi različite tehnike snimanja, a temelje se na principima nuklearne magnetske rezonancije. Steady state-free precession dinamički prikaz omogućava dinamično oslikavanje kretanja stijenki miokarda s jasnom granicom između krvi i endokarda. Kontrastnim sredstvima baziranima na gadoliniju prikazuju se područja fibroze i nekroze, a temeljem distribucije takvih lezija možemo donositi zaključke o etiologiji kardiomiopatije. Mjerena slika T2 sa supresijom signala masti koristi se za prikaz edema miokarda. Mapiranjem T1 i T2 kvantificira se vrijeme relaksacije T1, odnosno T2 u svakom pikselu. Mapiranje T2* omogućuje kvantifikaciju količine nakupljenog željeza u miokardu. U ovom radu prikazane su suvremene tehnike magnetske rezonancije srca i njihova uloga u dijagnostici kardiomiopatija.
Aim To determine the diagnostic accuracy of pulmonary artery to aorta ratio in screening for pulmonary hypertension in advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Methods A ...prospective, diagnostic study was conducted in University Hospital Center Zagreb between January 2015 and March 2018. The study enrolled 100 patients who consecutively underwent chest computed tomography (CT), echocardiographic exam, and right heart catheterization. Two independent observers measured pulmonary artery and ascending aorta diameters. The correlation between the ratio and mean pulmonary artery pressure, measured invasively, was assessed. Patients with echocardiographic signs of moderate systolic or diastolic left ventricular dysfunction were excluded (n = 44). Results Sixty-six patients (55.5% men), with a median age of 6', were identified. Median forced expiratory volume during the first second (FEV1) was 34 + or - 12, FEV1/ forced vital capacity <0.70. Patients with and without pulmonary hypertension had pulmonary artery diameter of 36 + or - 7 mm and 27 + or - 4.6 mm, respectively (P < 0.001). Median pulmonary artery/aorta (PA/A) ratios for patients with and without pulmonary hypertension were 1.05 and 0.81, respectively (P < 0.001). PA/A ratio above 0.95 was an independent predictor of pulmonary hypertension with a specificity of '00% and a sensitivity of 74.51% (area under the curve = 0.882; standard error = 0.041; P < 0.001). Conclusion PA/A ratio as measured on chest CT images can be used as a screening tool instead of echocardiography.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The optimal antithrombotic strategy early after aortic valve replacement surgery with a biological valve remains controversial due to lack of high-quality evidence. Either oral anticoagulants or ...acetylsalicylic acid should be considered for the first 3 months. Hypo-attenuated leaflet thickening on cardiac computed tomography has been associated with latent bioprosthetic valve thrombosis and may be prevented with anticoagulation. We hypothesize that anticoagulation with apixaban is superior to single antiplatelet therapy with acetylsalicylic acid in reducing hypo-attenuated leaflet thickening of bioprosthetic aortic valve prostheses.
In this prospective, open-label, randomized trial, patients undergoing isolated aortic valve replacement surgery with rapid deployment bioprosthetic valves will be randomized. The treatment group will receive 5 mg of apixaban twice a day for the first 3 months and 100 mg of acetylsalicylic acid thereafter. The control group will be administered 100 mg of acetylsalicylic acid once a day, indefinitely. After the 3-month treatment period, a contrast-enhanced electrocardiogram-gated cardiac computed tomography will be performed to identify hypo-attenuated leaflet thickening of the bioprosthetic valve. The primary objective of the study is to assess the impact of apixaban on the prevention of hypo-attenuated leaflet thickening at 3 months. The secondary and exploratory endpoints will be clinical outcomes and safety profiles of the two strategies.
Antithrombotic therapy after aortic valve replacement is used to prevent valve thrombosis and systemic thromboembolism. Latent bioprosthetic valve thrombosis is a precursor of clinically significant prosthetic valve dysfunction or thromboembolic events. The hallmark feature of latent bioprosthetic valve thrombosis is hypo-attenuated leaflet thickening on cardiac computed tomography. Subclinical leaflet thrombosis occurs frequently in bioprosthetic aortic valves, more commonly in transcatheter than in surgical valves. There is no evidence on the effect of direct oral anticoagulants on the incidence of hypo-attenuated leaflet thickening after surgical aortic valve replacement with rapid deployment bioprostheses.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06184113. Registered on December 28, 2023.
An aortopulmonary septal defect or aortopulmonary window (APW) is a rare cardiovascular anomaly with direct communication between the ascending aorta and the main pulmonary artery leading to a ...left-to-right shunt. It is accompanied by other cardiovascular anomalies in approximately half of patients. In order to avoid irreversible sequelae, interventional or surgical treatment should be performed as soon as possible. Cardiovascular CT, as a fast, non-invasive technique with excellent spatial resolution, has an increasing role in the evaluation of patients with APW, enabling precise and detailed planning of surgical treatment of APW and associated anomalies if present. This article aims to review the anatomical and clinical features of aortopulmonary septal defect with special emphasis on its detection and characterization by a CT examination.
Cardiac myxomas are the most common benign cardiac neoplasms. Echocardiography is the first-line imaging modality used to analyze cardiac masses, allowing the detection of tumor location, size, and ...mobility. However, additional imaging techniques are required to confirm the diagnosis, evaluate tissue characteristics of the mass, and assess potential invasion of surrounding structures. Second-line imaging includes cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or computed tomography (CT) depending on availability and the patient's characteristics and preferences. The advantages of CT include its wide availability and fast scanning, which allows good image quality even in patients who have difficulty cooperating. MRI has excellent soft-tissue resolution and is the gold standard technique for noninvasive tissue characterization. In some cases, evaluation of the tumor metabolism using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with CT may be useful, mainly if the differential diagnosis includes primary or metastatic cardiac malignancies. A cardiac myxoma can be identified by its characteristic location within the atria, typically in the left atrium attached to the interatrial septum. The main differential diagnoses include physiological structures in the atria like crista terminalis in the right atrium and the coumadin ridge in the left atrium, intracardiac thrombi, as well as other benign and malignant cardiac tumors. In this review paper, we describe the characteristics of cardiac myxomas identified using multimodality imaging and provide tips on how to differentiate myxomas from other cardiac masses.Cardiac myxomas are the most common benign cardiac neoplasms. Echocardiography is the first-line imaging modality used to analyze cardiac masses, allowing the detection of tumor location, size, and mobility. However, additional imaging techniques are required to confirm the diagnosis, evaluate tissue characteristics of the mass, and assess potential invasion of surrounding structures. Second-line imaging includes cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or computed tomography (CT) depending on availability and the patient's characteristics and preferences. The advantages of CT include its wide availability and fast scanning, which allows good image quality even in patients who have difficulty cooperating. MRI has excellent soft-tissue resolution and is the gold standard technique for noninvasive tissue characterization. In some cases, evaluation of the tumor metabolism using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with CT may be useful, mainly if the differential diagnosis includes primary or metastatic cardiac malignancies. A cardiac myxoma can be identified by its characteristic location within the atria, typically in the left atrium attached to the interatrial septum. The main differential diagnoses include physiological structures in the atria like crista terminalis in the right atrium and the coumadin ridge in the left atrium, intracardiac thrombi, as well as other benign and malignant cardiac tumors. In this review paper, we describe the characteristics of cardiac myxomas identified using multimodality imaging and provide tips on how to differentiate myxomas from other cardiac masses.
The aim of this study is to quantify the frequency content of the blood velocity waveform in different body regions by means of phase contrast (PC) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and Doppler ...ultrasound. The highest frequency component of the spectrum is inversely proportional to the ideal temporal resolution to be used for the acquisition of flow-sensitive imaging (Shannon-Nyquist theorem).
Ten healthy subjects (median age 33y, range 24-40) were scanned with a high-temporal-resolution PC-CMR and with Doppler ultrasound on three body regions (carotid arteries, aorta and femoral arteries). Furthermore, 111 patients (median age 61y) with mild to moderate arterial hypertension and 58 patients with aortic aregurgitation, atrial septal defect, or repaired tetralogy of Fallot underwent aortic CMR scanning. The frequency power distribution was calculated for each location and the maximum frequency component, f
, was extracted and expected limits for the general population were inferred.
In the healthy subject cohort, significantly different f
values were found across the different body locations, but they were nonsignificant across modalities. No significant correlation was found with heart rate. The measured f
ranged from 7.7 ± 1.1 Hz in the ascending aorta, up to 12.3 ± 5.1 Hz in the femoral artery (considering PC-CMR data). The calculated upper boundary for the general population ranged from 11.0 Hz to 27.5 Hz, corresponding to optimal temporal resolutions of 45 ms and 18 ms, respectively. The patient cohort exhibited similar values for the frequencies in the aorta, with no correlation between blood pressure and frequency content.
The temporal resolution of PC-CMR acquisitions can be adapted based on the scanned body region and in the adult population, should approach approximately 20 ms in the peripheral arteries and 40 ms in the aorta.
This study presents results from a restrospective analysis of the clinical study NCT01870739 (ClinicalTrials.gov).
A 47‐year old male with ischaemic cardiomyopathy was referred to us for durable left ventricular assist device placement. He was found to have prohibitively elevated pulmonary vascular resistance for ...heart transplantation. He underwent HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device implantation, with additional temporary right ventricular assist device (RVAD) placement. Following a 2‐week period of unweanable temporary right ventricular support, the patient was switched to durable biventricular support with two Heartmate 3 pumps. The patient was placed on a transplant waiting list but was not offered a heart for over 4 years. While on Heartmate 3 biventricular support (BiVAD), he returned to full activity and enjoyed an excellent quality of life. He underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy 7 months after the BIVAD implant. After 52 months of uneventful BiVAD support, he presented with a combination of adverse events that occurred over a short period. These included subarachnoidal haemorrhage and a new motor deficit, followed by RVAD infection and RVAD low‐flow alarms. After over 4 years of unimpeded RVAD flows, new imaging revealed an outflow graft twist with subsequent flow reduction. The patient underwent heart transplantation after a total of 1655 days of Heartmate 3 BiVAD support and continues to do well on latest follow‐up.
History A 68-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for work-up because of generalized fatigue, anorexia, chronic diarrhea, and weight loss. Laboratory work-up revealed an erythrocyte ...sedimentation rate of 58 mm/h (reference range, 3-23 mm/h), a hemoglobin level of 14.1 g/dL (reference range, 13.8-17.5 g/dL), a leukocyte count of 8.1 × 10
/L (reference range, 3.4-9.7 × 10
/L), a platelet count of 223 × 10
/L (reference range, 158-424 × 10
/L), an alkaline phosphatase level of 85 U/L (1.42 μkat/L) (normal level, <142 U/L 2.37 μkat/L), a serum creatinine level of 93 μmol/L (reference range, 79-125 μmol/L), a serum total protein level of 82 g/L (reference range, 66-81 g/L), a serum albumin level of 39.3 g/L (reference range, 40.2-47.6 g/L), an albumin-to-globulin ratio (a test showing relative amounts of major plasma proteins) of 0.92 (reference range, 0.8-2.0), a urine protein level of 15 mg/dL (normal level, <20 mg/dL), a total serum calcium level of 2.46 mmol/L (reference range, 2.14-2.53 mmol/L), and a carcinoembryonic antigen value of 2.69 μg/L (normal value, <3.4 μg/L). Serology findings were negative for celiac disease. Thyroid function was normal, as were 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and chromogranin A levels. Initial radiologic examination included chest radiography and plain abdominal erect radiography. Gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed to rule out inflammatory bowel disease or gastrointestinal neoplasm as a cause of chronic diarrhea. Endoscopic mucosal resection of two polyps from the cardia and duodenal bulb was performed during esophagogastroduodenoscopy, but histologic findings at hematoxylin-eosin staining were normal. Colonoscopy revealed diverticulosis involving the entire colon. Serum immunoelectrophoresis showed a monoclonal band, which was confirmed to be immunoglobulin Mλ at immunofixation. After histologic analysis of the bone marrow biopsy specimen, diagnosis of Waldenström macroglobulinemia was established, and computed tomography (CT) of the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis was requested to depict lymphadenopathy and organomegaly. On the basis of CT findings, two more specimens considered highly sensitive for the CT diagnosis were obtained via minimally invasive biopsy, but the results were negative. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed a year later to control the progression of CT findings.
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