Relationship between left ventricular shape and cardiovascular risk factors: comparison between the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and UK Biobank.

Background: Statistical shape atlases have been used in large-cohort studies to investigate relationships between heart shape and risk factors. The generalisability of these relationships between cohorts is unknown. The aims of this study were to compare left ventricular (LV) shapes in patients with differing cardiovascular risk factor profiles from two cohorts and to investigate whether LV shape scores generated with respect to a reference cohort can be directly used to study shape differences in another cohort.

The association between adverse childhood experiences and adult cardiac function in the UK Biobank.

Aims: The importance of early life factors in determining health in later adulthood is increasingly recognized. This study evaluated the association of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) phenotypes.

Methods And Results: UK Biobank participants who had completed CMR and the self-reported questionnaire on traumatic childhood experiences were included.

Myocardial ischaemia following COVID-19: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance study.

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.

Exploring cardiovascular involvement in IgG4-related disease: a case series approach with cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Background: IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a relapsing-remitting, fibroinflammatory, multisystem disorder. Cardiovascular involvement from IgG4-RD has not been systematically characterised. In this study, we sought to evaluate consecutive patients with IgG4-RD using a detailed multiparametric cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging protocol.

Protein Biomarkers of Adverse Clinical Features and Events in Sarcomeric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a heterogeneous condition that can lead to atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death in many individuals but mild clinical impact in others. The mechanisms underlying this phenotypic heterogeneity are not well defined. The aim of this study was to use plasma proteomic profiling to help illuminate biomarkers that reflect or inform the heterogeneity observed in HCM.

Association between subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiac structure and function-results from the UK Biobank Study.

Aims: Heart failure (HF) is a major health problem and early diagnosis is important. Atherosclerosis is the main cause of HF and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is a recognized early measure of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate whether increased carotid IMT is associated with changes in cardiac structure and function in middle-aged participants of the UK Biobank Study without overt cardiovascular disease.

Misclassification of females and males in cardiovascular magnetic resonance parametric mapping: the importance of sex-specific normal ranges for diagnosis of health vs. disease.

Aims: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance parametric mapping enables non-invasive quantitative myocardial tissue characterization. Human myocardium has normal ranges of T1 and T2 values, deviation from which may indicate disease or change in physiology. Normal myocardial T1 and T2 values are affected by biological sex.

Quality control-driven deep ensemble for accountable automated segmentation of cardiac magnetic resonance LGE and VNE images.

Background: Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is the gold standard for non-invasive myocardial tissue characterisation. However, accurate segmentation of the left ventricular (LV) myocardium remains a challenge due to limited training data and lack of quality control. This study addresses these issues by leveraging generative adversarial networks (GAN)-generated virtual native enhancement (VNE) images to expand the training set and incorporating an automated quality control-driven (QCD) framework to improve segmentation reliability.

Characterizing the hypertensive cardiovascular phenotype in the UK Biobank.

Aims: To describe hypertension-related cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) phenotypes in the UK Biobank considering variations across patient populations.

Methods And Results: We studied 39 095 (51.5% women, mean age: 63.

Estimating Uncertainty in Neural Networks for Cardiac MRI Segmentation: A Benchmark Study.

Objective: Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have demonstrated promise in automated cardiac magnetic resonance image segmentation. However, when using CNNs in a large real-world dataset, it is important to quantify segmentation uncertainty and identify segmentations which could be problematic. In this work, we performed a systematic study of Bayesian and non-Bayesian methods for estimating uncertainty in segmentation neural networks.

Acute changes in myocardial tissue characteristics during hospitalization in patients with COVID-19.

Background: Patients with a history of COVID-19 infection are reported to have cardiac abnormalities on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) during convalescence. However, it is unclear whether these abnormalities were present during the acute COVID-19 illness and how they may evolve over time.

Methods: We prospectively recruited unvaccinated patients hospitalized with acute COVID-19 ( = 23), and compared them with matched outpatient controls without COVID-19 ( = 19) between May 2020 and May 2021.

Myocardial Involvement After Hospitalization for COVID-19 Complicated by Troponin Elevation: A Prospective, Multicenter, Observational Study.

Background: Acute myocardial injury in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a poor prognosis. Its associations and pathogenesis are unclear. Our aim was to assess the presence, nature, and extent of myocardial damage in hospitalized patients with troponin elevation.

3-Dimensional Strain Analysis of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Insights From the NHLBI International HCM Registry.

Background: Abnormal global longitudinal strain (GLS) has been independently associated with adverse cardiac outcomes in both obstructive and nonobstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to understand predictors of abnormal GLS from baseline data from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Registry (HCMR).

Methods: The study evaluated comprehensive 3-dimensional left ventricular myocardial strain from cine cardiac magnetic resonance in 2,311 patients from HCMR using in-house validated feature-tracking software.

Incident Clinical and Mortality Associations of Myocardial Native T1 in the UK Biobank.

Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance native T1-mapping provides noninvasive, quantitative, and contrast-free myocardial characterization. However, its predictive value in population cohorts has not been studied.

Objectives: The associations of native T1 with incident events were evaluated in 42,308 UK Biobank participants over 3.

Acute Response in the Noninfarcted Myocardium Predicts Long-Term Major Adverse Cardiac Events After STEMI.

Background: Acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has effects on the myocardium beyond the immediate infarcted territory. However, pathophysiologic changes in the noninfarcted myocardium and their prognostic implications remain unclear.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term prognostic value of acute changes in both infarcted and noninfarcted myocardium post-STEMI.

Left ventricular anatomy in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: beyond basal septal hypertrophy.

Aims: Obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) is characterized by dynamic obstruction of the left ventricular (LV) outflow tract (LVOT). Although this may be mediated by interplay between the hypertrophied septal wall, systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve, and papillary muscle abnormalities, the mechanistic role of LV shape is still not fully understood. This study sought to identify the LV end-diastolic morphology underpinning oHCM.

Mitral Annular Disjunction Assessed Using CMR Imaging: Insights From the UK Biobank Population Study.

Background: Mitral annular disjunction is the atrial displacement of the mural mitral valve leaflet hinge point within the atrioventricular junction. Said to be associated with malignant ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death, its prevalence in the general population is not known.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of occurrence and extent of mitral annular disjunction in a large population cohort.

Artificial Intelligence for Contrast-Free MRI: Scar Assessment in Myocardial Infarction Using Deep Learning-Based Virtual Native Enhancement.

Background: Myocardial scars are assessed noninvasively using cardiovascular magnetic resonance late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) as an imaging gold standard. A contrast-free approach would provide many advantages, including a faster and cheaper scan without contrast-associated problems.

Methods: Virtual native enhancement (VNE) is a novel technology that can produce virtual LGE-like images without the need for contrast.

Acute vasodilator response testing in the adult Fontan circulation using non-invasive 4D Flow MRI: a proof-of-principle study.

Background: Pulmonary vasodilator therapy in Fontan patients can improve exercise tolerance. We aimed to assess the potential for testing of acute vasodilator response using four-dimensional (D) flow MRI during oxygen inhalation.

Materials And Methods: Six patients with well-functioning Fontan circulations were prospectively recruited and underwent cardiac MRI.