Specific Morphology of Coronary Artery Aneurysms in Mainly White Patients With Kawasaki Disease: Initial Data From the Cardiac Catheterization in Kawasaki Disease Registry.

Background: Patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) with coronary artery involvement require long-term cardiac care. Although respective evidence-based recommendations are missing, cardiac catheterization is still considered the gold standard for diagnosing detailed coronary pathology. Therefore, to better understand coronary artery pathology development, we conducted a survey to document and evaluate cardiac catheterization data in a European population.

Pre-existing maternal cardiovascular disease and the risk of offspring cardiovascular disease from infancy to early adulthood.

Background And Aims: A variety of maternal heart conditions are associated with abnormal placentation and reduced foetal growth. However, their impact on offspring's long-term cardiovascular health is poorly studied. This study aims to investigate the association between intrauterine exposure to pre-existing maternal cardiovascular disease (CVD) and offspring CVD occurring from infancy to early adulthood, using paternal CVD as a negative control.

Delayed, Unprovoked, Hemodynamic Collapse with Following Asystole in a Pediatric Patient Following a High-Voltage Injury: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Electrical incidents are common and mostly uneventful, though can be severe and sometimes lethal. Aside from skin, muscle and soft tissue damage, electrical injuries can cause cardiac arrhythmias, the most common cardiac complication. The case of a 14-year-old girl who sustained 48.

Detection and Monitoring of Acute Myocarditis Applying Quantitative Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance.

Background: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance based on the Lake Louise Criteria is used to make the diagnosis of acute myocarditis. Novel quantitative parametric mapping techniques promise to overcome some of its limitations. We aimed to evaluate quantitative cardiovascular magnetic resonance to detect and monitor acute myocarditis.

Current T₁ and T₂ mapping techniques applied with simple thresholds cannot discriminate acute from chronic myocadial infarction on an individual patient basis: a pilot study.

Background: Studying T1- and T2-mapping for discrimination of acute from chronic myocardial infarction (AMI, CMI).

Methods: Eight patients with AMI underwent CMR at 3 T acutely and after >3 months. Imaging techniques included: T2-weighted imaging, late enhancement (LGE), T2-mapping, native and post-contrast T1-mapping.

Prospective, randomized comparison of gadopentetate and gadobutrol to assess chronic myocardial infarction applying cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Background: We hypothesized that the contrast medium gadobutrol is not inferior compared to Gd-DTPA in identifying and quantifying ischemic late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), even by using a lower dose.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 30 patients with chronic myocardial infarction as visualized by LGE during clinical routine scan at 1.5 T with 0.

Assessment of nonischemic fibrosis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: comparison of gadopentetate dimeglumine and gadobenate dimeglumine for enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: To compare whether the higher relaxivity contrast agent gadobenate is superior for the identification of nonischemic late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) compared to standard relaxivity agents such as gadopentetate.

Materials And Methods: Fifteen patients with HCM and positive LGE based on routine cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) with 0.2 mmol/kg gadopentetate were enrolled.

Influence of acute and chronic myocardial loading conditions, function, structural changes and extracardiac factors on NT-proBNP in asymptomatic patients with preserved ejection fraction.

Background: We compared the effect of different loading conditions, parameters of structural heart disease and extracardiac confounders on NT-proBNP to validate the application of NT-proBNP for a characterisation of loading conditions and clinical course of patients with chronic heart diseases.

Methods: NT-proBNP was measured in 15 controls and 34 patients with preserved ejection fraction and chronic pressure (by aortic stenosis) or volume overload (by aortic or mitral regurgitation) before and after physical as well as dobutamine stress. Myocardial fibrosis was evaluated by contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

An open-source software tool for the generation of relaxation time maps in magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: In magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, T1, T2 and T2* relaxation times represent characteristic tissue properties that can be quantified with the help of specific imaging strategies. While there are basic software tools for specific pulse sequences, until now there is no universal software program available to automate pixel-wise mapping of relaxation times from various types of images or MR systems. Such a software program would allow researchers to test and compare new imaging strategies and thus would significantly facilitate research in the area of quantitative tissue characterization.

Aortic dilatation in patients with prosthetic aortic valve: comparison of MRI and echocardiography.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Patients with prosthetic aortic valve have an increased risk for aortic dissection, which rises further with growing aortic diameters. Thus, accurate aortic monitoring is required. As transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), the current clinical standard, is frequently restricted to the proximal ascending aorta, the use of two-dimensional cardiovascular magnetic resonance (2D-CMR) in transverse orientation was investigated as a screening tool to assess ascending aortic dimensions.

Assessment of mitral bioprostheses using cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Background: The orifice area of mitral bioprostheses provides important information regarding their hemodynamic performance. It is usually calculated by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), however, accurate and reproducible determination may be challenging. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has been proven as an accurate alternative for assessing aortic bioprostheses.

Contractures and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a novel FHL1 mutation.

We investigated a large German family (n = 37) with male members who had contractures, rigid spine syndrome, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Muscle weakness or atrophy was not prominent in affected individuals. Muscle biopsy disclosed a myopathic pattern with cytoplasmic bodies.

Feasibility of cardiovascular magnetic resonance to assess the orifice area of aortic bioprostheses.

Background: Prosthetic orifice area, usually calculated by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) or transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), provides important information regarding the hemodynamic performance of aortic bioprostheses. However, both TTE and TEE have limitations; therefore accurate and reproducible determination of the orifice area often remains a challenge. The present study aimed to investigate the feasibility of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to assess the orifice areas of aortic bioprostheses.

Heritability of left ventricular and papillary muscle heart size: a twin study with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Aims: Earlier studies in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins showed genetic variance on echocardiographically determined heart size. However, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is more precise and reproducible. We performed a twin study relying on CMR, focusing on left ventricular (LV) mass and papillary muscle, since there are no genetic reports on this structure.

Cardiac magnetic resonance monitors reversible and irreversible myocardial injury in myocarditis.

Objectives: We sought to assess the value of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to monitor the spectrum of myocarditis-related injuries over the course of the disease.

Background: Myocarditis is associated with a wide range of myocardial tissue injuries, both reversible and irreversible. Differentiating these types of injuries is a clinical demand.

Noninvasive detection of fibrosis applying contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance in different forms of left ventricular hypertrophy relation to remodeling.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the incidence and patterns of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in different forms of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and to determine their relation to severity of left ventricular (LV) remodeling.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy is an independent predictor of cardiac mortality. The relationship between LVH and myocardial fibrosis as defined by LGE cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is not well understood.

Gender-specific differences in left ventricular remodelling and fibrosis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: insights from cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Background: Gender is an independent risk factor for heart failure mortality in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Aims: To explore the interaction between gender, myocardial fibrosis and remodelling in HCM.

Methods: We studied 64 HCM patients (28 females, aged 51+/-16 years) categorized as non-obstructive (HNCM, n=31) or obstructive (HOCM, n=33) and 60 healthy subjects (31 females, aged 43+/-14 years).

Relation between myocardial edema and myocardial mass during the acute and convalescent phase of myocarditis--a CMR study.

Background: Myocardial edema is a substantial feature of the inflammatory response in human myocarditis. The relation between myocardial edema and myocardial mass in the course of healing myocarditis has not been systematically investigated. We hypothesised that the resolution of myocardial edema as visualised by T2-weighted cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is associated with a decrease of myocardial mass in steady state free precession (SSFP)-cine imaging.

Delayed enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance imaging reveals typical patterns of myocardial injury in patients with various forms of non-ischemic heart disease.

Background: Late gadolinium-hyperenhancement (LHE) on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has been linked to cardiovascular risk in ischemic and non-ischemic heart disease. We aimed to systematically categorize LHE-patterns in a variety of non-ischemic heart diseases (NIHD) and to explore their relationship with left ventricular (LV) function.

Methods: In a retrospective database search, 156 patients with NIHD who exhibited LHE on CMR were identified.