Publications by authors named "Chiara Bucciarelli-Ducci"

Background And Aim: Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) improve outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF) but underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is key in evaluating cardiac structure and function, enabling accurate assessment of reverse remodeling. Aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effects of SGLT2i on cardiac remodeling evaluated by CMR changes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has a growing role in the diagnosis and management of cardiac disease. However, there is little recent data on the availability of CMR physicians (readers) in the United States (US).

Objective: To demonstrate the geographic proximity and accessibility of patients to CMR services and CMR physicians across the US.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of the present clinical consensus statement of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Diseases is to review the current knowledge on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy, and outcomes of myocardial and pericardial complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and vaccination in order to improve the awareness and clinical confidence on the management of patients with these complications. The risk of myopericardial complications is especially higher within 1 month of COVID-19 disease and vaccination. Forms related to the disease are generally more common and severe than those related to vaccination.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rationale: The optimal noninvasive diagnostic imaging strategy for patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) is widely debated. Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography (CTCA) and functional imaging are both guideline-recommended, although comparative effectiveness in patients with intermediate-high pretest likelihood (PTL) is limited. Primary Hypothesis: We aim to establish if a personalized investigation strategy compared to CTCA first-line for allcomers, leads to improved patient outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Obesity and heart failure (HF) represent two growing pandemics. In the general population, obesity affects one in eight adults and is linked with an increased risk for HF. Obesity is even more common in patients with HF, where it complicates the diagnosis of HF and is linked with worse symptoms and impaired exercise capacity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The coronary sinus reducer (CSR) is a novel percutaneous treatment for patients with refractory angina. Increasing evidence supports its clinical efficacy in patients with advanced epicardial coronary artery disease. However, its mechanism of action and its effects on myocardial perfusion remain undefined.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sudden cardiac death (SCD), the most devastating complication of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is primarily triggered by ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. Despite advances in knowledge, the mechanisms driving ventricular arrhythmia in HCM remain incompletely understood, stemming from an interplay of multiple pro-arrhythmic factors. Myocyte disarray and myocardial fibrosis form a structural substrate favorable to re-entrant arrhythmias by altering myocardial electrophysiological properties, while cellular abnormalities predominate in patients without evident structural remodeling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is established as a key imaging modality in a wide range of cardiovascular diseases and has an emerging diagnostic and prognostic role in selected patients presenting acutely. Recent technical advancements have improved the versatility of this imaging technique, which has become quicker and more detailed in both functional and tissue characterization assessments. Information derived from this test has the potential to change clinical management, guide therapeutic decisions, and provide risk stratification.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2024 Conference (CMR2024) convened in London, UK, from 24 to 26 January 2024 and brought together 2705 learners and renowned cardiac imaging professionals to discuss and learn about the latest advancements. Organized by the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), in collaboration with the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR), CMR2024 was the largest international cardiac magnetic resonance conference to date. This conference underscored the collaboration between cardiologists, radiologists, scientists, and technologists by bringing together three major societies-SCMR, EACVI, and ESCR.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2024 Conference (CMR2024) convened in London, UK, from 24 to 26 January 2024 and brought together 2705 learners and renowned cardiac imaging professionals to discuss and learn about the latest advancements. Organized by the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), in collaboration with the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR), CMR2024 was the largest international cardiac magnetic resonance conference to date. This conference underscored the collaboration between cardiologists, radiologists, scientists, and technologists by bringing together three major societies-SCMR, EACVI, and ESCR.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Delivery of health care, including medical imaging, generates substantial global greenhouse gas emissions. The cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) community has an opportunity to decrease our carbon footprint, mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, and develop resiliency to current and future impacts of climate change. The goal of this document is to review and recommend actions and strategies to allow for CMR operation with improved sustainability, including efficient CMR protocols and CMR imaging workflow strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy, and waste, and to decrease reliance on finite resources, including helium and waterbody contamination by gadolinium-based contrast agents.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is treated with immediate primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) to restore coronary blood flow in the acutely ischaemic territory, but is associated with reperfusion injury limiting the benefit of the therapy. No treatment has proven effective in reducing reperfusion injury. Transcoronary hypothermia has been tested in clinical studies and is well tolerated, but is generally established after crossing the occlusion with a guidewire therefore after initial reperfusion, which might have contributed to the neutral outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The pathophysiology of myocardial injury following COVID-19 remains uncertain. COVID-HEART was a prospective, multicentre study utilising cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to characterise COVID-related myocardial injury. In this pre-specified analysis, the objectives were to examine (1) the frequency of myocardial ischaemia following COVID-19, and (2) the association between ischaemia and myocardial injury.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Development of myocardial fibrosis in patients with aortic stenosis precedes left ventricular decompensation and is associated with an adverse long-term prognosis.

Objective: To investigate whether early valve intervention reduced the incidence of all-cause death or unplanned aortic stenosis-related hospitalization in asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis and myocardial fibrosis.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective, randomized, open-label, masked end point trial was conducted between August 2017 and October 2022 at 24 cardiac centers across the UK and Australia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the effects of myocardial injury in hospitalized COVID-19 survivors who had elevated troponin levels, using cardiac imaging and tracking health-related quality of life over 12 months.* -
  • Conducted in 25 UK centers, the research involved 342 participants, finding that while some cardiovascular events occurred, overall major adverse outcomes were low after 12 months.* -
  • Results showed slight improvements in heart function and quality of life after 6 months, with no evidence of ongoing myocardial inflammation or progression of heart injury.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: This study aims to evaluate the success of the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging Academy Berlin's transition from in-person to online CMR imaging training during the global pandemic 2020 and to gather recommendations for future courses.

Methods And Results: We conducted an online survey targeting CMR course participants from both the pre-pandemic, in-person era and the pandemic, online era of the CMR Academy Berlin. The survey primarily used Likert-type questions to assess participants' experiences and preferences.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The cardiotoxic effects of anthracyclines therapy are well recognized, both in the short and long term. Echocardiography allows monitoring of cancer patients treated with this class of drugs by serial assessment of left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) as a surrogate of systolic function. However, changes in myocardial function may occur late in the process when cardiac damage is already established.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1Ra) and SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are primarily used to manage blood sugar but also show protective effects on heart health, influencing heart-related illness and death rates.
  • The specific biological reasons for these cardiovascular benefits are still unclear, highlighting the need for better understanding through medical imaging techniques.
  • Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is highlighted as a key tool for assessing heart function and structure in diabetic patients and is evolving to include new methods that examine heart metabolism, making it vital for researching the impacts of GLP-1Ra and SGLT2i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF