Assessment of incidental cardiac uptake in bone scintigraphy across Spain: The ECCINGO study.

Aim: Myocardial uptake on bone scintigraphy has become useful for the detection of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA). This study aimed to assess the prevalence of myocardial uptake in patients over 18 years of age with no clinical suspicion of cardiac amyloidosis (CA) who had undergone bone scintigraphy.

Methods And Results: This was an observational, retrospective, multicenter study across 21 Spanish hospitals (September-November 2019).

Metabolic-associated fatty liver voxel-based quantification on CT images using a contrast adapted automatic tool.

Background & Aims: Metabolic-dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is highly prevalent and can lead to liver complications and comorbidities, with non-invasive tests such as vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and invasive liver biopsies being used for diagnosis The aim of the present study was to develop a new fully automatized method for quantifying the percentage of fat in the liver based on a voxel analysis on computed tomography (CT) images to solve previously unconcluded diagnostic deficiencies either in contrast (CE) or non-contrast enhanced (NCE) assessments.

Methods: Liver and spleen were segmented using nn-UNet on CE- and NCE-CT images. Radiodensity values were obtained for both organs for defining the key benchmarks for fatty liver assessment: liver mean, liver-to-spleen ratio, liver-spleen difference, and their average.

Implementing a coronary CT angiography protocol based on the body mass index: Radiation dose reduction, image quality, and diagnostic performance.

Objectives: To evaluate the relation between the coronary calcium score and the posterior choice of kilovoltage according to radiologists' criteria in a standard coronary CT angiography protocol to rule out coronary disease. To quantify the reduction in ionizing radiation after linking kilovoltage to patients' body mass index in a low-dose protocol with iterative model reconstruction. To evaluate the image quality and diagnostic performance of the low-dose protocol.

Vall d'Hebron Risk Score II for myocardial infarction and cardiac death.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to create a new Vall d'Hebron Risk Score-II (VH-RS-II) for non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) and/or cardiac death (CD), excluding patients with coronary revascularisation (CR) during the follow-up.

Methods: We analysed 5215 consecutive patients underwent gated single photon emission CT (SPECT); 2960 patients (age 64.2±11, male 58.

Integration of ventricular remodeling, synchrony and filling rate parameters to improve the assessment of left ventricular systolic function.

Introduction And Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between structural, remodeling, synchrony, and systolic left ventricular (LV) function parameters using gated-SPECT myocardial-perfusion-images (gSPECT-MPI). In addition, obtaining the cut-off values for end-diastolic LV-shape-index (EDLVsi), end-systolic LV-shape-index (ESLVsi), ECC (eccentricity-index) and PER, and developing a new index to evaluate different patterns of the LV systolic function.

Methods: The study was approved by the Hospital's Ethical-Committee (PR[AG]168.

Current vision of a disease with high mortality that is progressively dispersing throughout the world: Chagasic heart disease.

The sympathetic denervation studies and the studies of microvascular involvement are the most important tools for early detection of Chagas heart disease. Especially the 123I-123I-MIBGSPECT or 11C-meta-hydroxyephedrine-PET studies since everything starts from sympathetic denervation. Also it is advisable to insist on the assessment of other parameters of early involvement of left ventricular systolic function to understand the importance of the additional information provided by the analysis of the parameters of ventricular remodeling, synchrony, and GLS in patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction and in the absence of ventricular dilatation for early detection of myocardial dysfunction.

Insights into Insulin Resistance and Calcification in the Myocardium in Type 2 Diabetes: A Coronary Artery Analysis.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is responsible for high incidence of cardiovascular (CV) complications leading to heart failure. Coronary artery region-specific metabolic and structural assessment could provide deeper insight into the extent of the disease and help prevent adverse cardiac events. Therefore, in this study, we aimed at investigating such myocardial dynamics for the first time in insulin-sensitive (mIS) and insulin-resistant (mIR) T2D patients.

Description of a different quantification method for amyloid burden (DPDload) and validation of SPECT/CT in cardiac amyloidosis.

Background: Bone tracers such as Tc-DPD have shown high sensitivity and specificity in the non-invasive diagnosis of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA). This study aims to validate SPECT/CT and assess the usefulness of uptake quantification (DPDload) in the myocardial tissue as potential information on the amyloid burden.

Methods: In a retrospective analysis of 46 patients with suspected CA, 23 cases with ATTR-CA had two quantification methods conducted to estimate amyloid burden (DPDload) through planar scintigraphic scans and a SPECT/CT.

Development of a risk score for patients with ischaemic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Ischaemic cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of heart failure and is associated with a poor prognosis.

Aim: To evaluate predictors of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and to develop a risk score for the disease.

Methods: All patients with ischaemic cardiomyopathy referred to a tertiary hospital between 2010 and 2018 for stress-rest gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) were included retrospectively (n=747).

Identification of Myocardial Insulin Resistance by Using Liver Tests: A Simple Approach for Clinical Practice.

Background: We report that myocardial insulin resistance (mIR) occurs in around 60% of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and was associated with higher cardiovascular risk in comparison with patients with insulin-sensitive myocardium (mIS). These two phenotypes (mIR vs. mIS) can only be assessed using time-consuming and expensive methods.

Usefulness of the Vall d'Hebron Risk Score to stratify the risk of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Background: To evaluate the Vall d'Hebron-Risk-Score (VH-RS) to stratify the risk of patients with stable ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), and assess whether hemoglobin (Hb) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) provide additional information to the VH-RS.

Methods And Results: We analysed 673 consecutive patients with ICM who underwent gated SPECT. According to VH-RS, we stratified patients into 4-risk-levels: very-low-risk (VLR), low-risk (LR), moderate-risk (MR), and high-risk (HRi).

Impact of revascularization guided by functional testing in ischaemic cardiomyopathy.

Aims: The burden of ischaemia is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in ischaemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) but is not systematically tested when deciding on revascularization. Limited data exists in patients with ICM regarding the interaction between ischaemia and early coronary revascularization (ECR). This study sought to determine if the burden of ischaemia modifies the outcomes of ECR in ICM.

Phenotyping Type 2 Diabetes in Terms of Myocardial Insulin Resistance and Its Potential Cardiovascular Consequences: A New Strategy Based on F-FDG PET/CT.

Background: Systemic insulin resistance is generally postulated as an independent risk factor of cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the role of myocardial insulin resistance (mIR) remains to be clarified.

Methods: Two F-FDG PET/CT scans were performed on forty-three T2D patients at baseline and after hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp (HEC).

The valve uptake index: improving assessment of prosthetic valve endocarditis and updating [18F]FDG PET/CT(A) imaging criteria.

Aims: Diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) by positron emission computed tomography angiography (PET/CTA) is based on visual and quantitative morpho-metabolic features. However, the fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake pattern can be sometimes visually unclear and susceptible to subjectivity. This study aimed to validate a new parameter, the valve uptake index [VUI, maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax)-mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean)/SUVmax], designed to provide a more objective indication of the distribution of metabolic activity.

Planning the Follow-Up of Patients with Stable Chronic Coronary Artery Disease.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death among Europeans, Americans, and around the world. In addition, the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) is increasing, with the highest number of hospital visits, hospital readmissions for patients with decompensated heart failure, and a high economic cost. It is, therefore, a priority to try to plan the follow-up of patients with stable chronic CAD (scCAD) in relation to the published data, experience, and new technology that we have today.

Q waves in ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Q waves may be observed in the absence of non-viable tissue. However, their scintigraphic translation in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) has not been properly assessed. This study sought to establish the determinants of Q waves in the absence of non-viable tissue and the diagnostic accuracy in this population.

H NMR serum metabolomic profiling of patients at risk of cardiovascular diseases performing stress test.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Changes in lifestyle and/or pharmacological treatment are able to reduce the burden of coronary artery diseases (CAD) and early diagnosis is crucial for the timely and optimal management of the disease. Stress testing is a good method to measure the burden of CAD but it is time consuming and pharmacological testing may not fully mimic exercise test.