A Contemporary Review of Imaging in Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy.

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a rare inherited disease characterized by fibrofatty replacement of the myocardium, associated with lethal arrhythmias and heart failure. ACM diagnosis is challenging, as it involves clinical, genetic, and multiparametric imaging assessments. Imaging plays a central role in evaluating ACM by targeting the intertwined morphofunctional and tissue abnormalities.

Feasibility and Prognostic Value of Stress Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease.

Background: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are at high cardiovascular risk. The safety and prognostic value of stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in ESRD patients remains unclear as data are lacking due to perceived contrast agent-related risk.

Objectives: The authors aimed to assess the safety and prognostic value of stress CMR in asymptomatic ESRD patients on waitlist for kidney transplantation.

Anti-RNApol3-Associated myocarditis: an emerging disease linking autoimmunity and infection.

Background: Fulminant myocarditis (FM) is a severe condition primarily triggered by viruses. Anti-RNA polymerase III autoantibodies (RNApol3) which are typically found in patients with severe systemic sclerosis, have been reported in patients with influenza-related FM. Our objective is to provide additional insight into RNApol3-associated FM.

Case Report: Immune checkpoint-inhibitor related myotoxicity monitoring using a comprehensive cardiothoracic MRI approach: insights from a clinical case.

Recent advances in immunotherapy have significantly improved outcomes for cancer patients. However, therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can lead to immune-related adverse events, including potentially fatal ICI-myocarditis. The diagnosis of ICI-myocarditis is complex, and cardiac MRI plays a crucial role in identifying this condition.

Imaging features of desmoplakin arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy: A comparative cardiovascular magnetic resonance study.

Background: Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) related to Desmoplakin (DSP) mutations is a distinct condition associated with particularly severe outcomes, more frequent left ventricular (LV) involvement, including fibrosis, dysfunction, and inflammatory episodes. Whether DSP-ACM is associated with specific imaging features remains elusive. This study aims to provide a comprehensive description of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) findings in patients with DSP-ACM and to compare them to RV-dominant ACM with LV involvement (LV+ right-dominant-ACM).

Comparison of ultrasound and dynamic MRI for the measurement of diaphragmatic excursion: A prospective single-center study.

Objectives: Ultrasound (US) measurements of diaphragmatic excursion (DE) are widely used to provide a non-invasive assessment of the diaphragmatic function at the bedside, especially in intensive care. However, this measurement has never been validated against a less operator-dependent technique such as MRI. Dynamic MRI is the only imaging modality that creates a four-dimensional reconstruction of the diaphragm.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of quantitative cardiac magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare CMR imaging biomarkers between SLE patients and matched controls.

Materials And Methods: Electronic databases were systematically searched from inception until November 2023. All studies reporting CMR imaging data in SLE patients were included.

New atrio-ventricular indices derived from conventional cine MRI correlate with functional capacity in patients with asymptomatic primary mitral regurgitation.

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is associated with morphological and functional alterations of left atrium (LA) and ventricle (LV), possibly inducing LA-LV misalignment. We aimed to: (1) characterize angulation between LA and mitral annulus from conventional cine MRI data and feature-tracking (FT) contours, (2) assess their associations with functional capacity in MR patients, as assessed by oxygen consumption (peak-VO) and minute ventilation to carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO) slope, in comparison with MRI LA/LV strain indices. Thirty-two asymptomatic primary MR patients (56 [40; 66] years, 12 women) underwent cardiac MRI resulting in LA/LV conventional FT-derived strain indices.

The epicardial adipose tissue confined in the atrioventricular groove can be used to assess atrial adipose tissue and atrial dysfunction in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Aims: The growing interest in epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) as a biomarker of atrial fibrillation is limited by the difficulties in isolating EAT from other paracardial adipose tissues. We tested the feasibility and value of measuring the pure EAT contained in the atrioventricular groove (GEAT) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in patients with distinct metabolic disorders.

Methods And Results: CMR was performed on 100 patients from the MetaCardis cohort: obese ( = 18), metabolic syndrome (MSD) ( = 25), type-2 diabetes (T2D) ( = 42), and age- and gender-matched healthy controls ( = 15).

A Proposal for a Process from as Low as Reasonably Achievable to an Ultra-Low-Level Goal in Chest Computed Tomography.

To define and evaluate a radiation dose optimization process for chest computed tomography (CT) imaging. Data from unenhanced and enhanced chest CT acquisitions performed between June 2018 and January 2020 in adult patients were included in the study. Images were acquired on a Siemens SOMATOM Definition Edge CT.

Phenotyping coronary plaque by computed tomography in premature coronary artery disease.

Aims: Premature coronary artery disease (CAD) is an aggressive disease with multiple recurrences mostly related to new coronary lesions. This study aimed to compare coronary plaque characteristics of individuals with premature CAD with those of incidental plaques found in matched individuals free of overt cardiovascular disease, using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).

Methods And Results: Of 1552 consecutive individuals who underwent CCTA, 106 individuals with history of acute or stable obstructive CAD ≤45 years were matched by age, sex, smoking status, cardiovascular heredity, and dyslipidaemia with 106 controls.

Value of aortic volumes assessed by automated segmentation of 3D MRI data in patients with thoracic aortic dilatation: A case-control study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefit of aortic volumes compared to diameters or cross-sectional areas on three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in discriminating between patients with dilated aorta and matched controls.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-two patients (47 men and 15 women; median age, 66 years; age range: 33-86 years) with tricuspid aortic valve and ascending thoracic aorta aneurysm (TAV-ATAA) and 43 patients (35 men and 8 women; median age, 51 years; age range: 17-76 years) with bicuspid aortic valve and dilated ascending aorta (BAV) were studied. One group of 54 controls matched for age and sex to patients with TAV-ATAA (39 men and 15 women; median age, 68 years; age range: 33-81 years) and one group of 42 controls matched for age and sex to patients with BAV (34 men and 8 women; median age, 50 years; age range: 17-77 years) were identified.

Apixaban and Valve Thrombosis After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: The ATLANTIS-4D-CT Randomized Clinical Trial Substudy.

Background: Subclinical obstructive valve thrombosis after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is of uncertain frequency and clinical impact.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of apixaban vs standard of care on post-TAVR valve thrombosis detected by 4-dimensional (4D) computed tomography.

Methods: The randomized ATLANTIS (Anti-Thrombotic Strategy to Lower All Cardiovascular and Neurologic Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Events After Trans-Aortic Valve Implantation for Aortic Stenosis) trial demonstrated that apixaban 5 mg twice daily was not superior to standard of care (vitamin K antagonists or antiplatelet therapy) after successful TAVR and was associated with similar safety but with more noncardiovascular deaths.

Myocardial Infarction in a 29-Year-Old Woman Leads to Diagnosis and Treatment of a Rare Disease.

A 29-year-old woman without history of cardiac disease or risk factors sought treatment for sudden onset of chest pain radiating down the back, jaw, and arms, complicated by discomfort in the orthostatic position and severe headache. She had a history of epistaxis since childhood as well as familial history of epistaxis via her mother. BMI was 22 kg/m, and electrocardiography showed ST segment depression in V1V2 precordial leads and T-wave inversion in inferior leads.

Inverted Takotsubo Syndrome With HELLP Syndrome: A Case Report.

Background: Takotsubo syndrome is an acute cardiac condition involving sudden, transient apical ballooning of the left ventricle of the heart that may be triggered by emotional stress and some non-cardiac conditions. Its diagnosis is based on clinical presentation, electrocardiogram, cardiac imaging and biomarkers.

Case Summary: Here, we present a novel and original case report of a patient presenting very soon in the post-partum period with an unusual form of Takotsubo syndrome without clinical symptoms of cardiac disease and accompanied by HELLP syndrome.

Cardiac adipose tissue volume and IL-6 level at admission are complementary predictors of severity and short-term mortality in COVID-19 diabetic patients.

Background: COVID-19 diabetic adults are at increased risk of severe forms irrespective of obesity. In patients with type-II diabetes, fat distribution is characterized by visceral and ectopic adipose tissues expansion, resulting in systemic inflammation, which may play a role in driving the COVID-19 cytokine storm. Our aim was to determine if cardiac adipose tissue, combined to interleukin-6 levels, could predict adverse short-term outcomes, death and ICU requirement, in COVID-19 diabetic patients during the 21 days after admission.

Association between coronary artery calcifications and 6-month mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between coronary artery calcium (CAC) visual score and 6-month mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Material And Methods: A single-center prospective observational cohort was conducted in 169 COVID-19 consecutive hospitalized patients between March 13 and April 1, 2020, and follow-up for 6-months. A four-level visual CAC scoring was assessed by analyzing images obtained after the first routine non-ECG-gated CT performed to detect COVID-19 pneumonia.

Differential association between inflammatory cytokines and multiorgan dysfunction in COVID-19 patients with obesity.

To investigate the mechanisms underlying the SARS-CoV-2 infection severity observed in patients with obesity, we performed a prospective study of 51 patients evaluating the impact of multiple immune parameters during 2 weeks after admission, on vital organs' functions according to body mass index (BMI) categories. High-dimensional flow cytometric characterization of immune cell subsets was performed at admission, 30 systemic cytokines/chemokines levels were sequentially measured, thirteen endothelial markers were determined at admission and at the zenith of the cytokines. Computed tomography scans on admission were quantified for lung damage and hepatic steatosis (n = 23).

Visual lung damage CT score at hospital admission of COVID-19 patients and 30-day mortality.

Objectives: Chest CT has been widely used to screen and to evaluate the severity of COVID-19 disease in the early stages of infection without severe acute respiratory syndrome, but no prospective data are available to study the relationship between extent of lung damage and short-term mortality. The objective was to evaluate association between standardized simple visual lung damage CT score (vldCTs) at admission, which does not require any software, and 30-day mortality.

Methods: In a single-center prospective cohort of COVID-19 patients included during 4 weeks, the presence and extent of ground glass opacities(GGO), consolidation opacities, or both of them were visually assessed in each of the 5 lung lobes (score from 0 to 4 per lobe depending on the percentage and out of 20 per patient = vldCTs) after the first chest CT performed to detect COVID-19 pneumonia.