Clinical impact of novel cardiovascular magnetic resonance technology on patients with congenital heart disease: a scientific statement of the Association for European Pediatric and Congenital Cardiology and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging of the European Society of Cardiology.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is recommended in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) in clinical practice guidelines as the imaging standard for a large variety of diseases. As CMR is evolving, novel techniques are becoming available. Some of them are already used clinically, whereas others still need further evaluation.

Left atrial volume index and outcome after transcatheter edge-to-edge valve repair for secondary mitral regurgitation.

Aims: To investigate the role of left atrial volume index (LAVi) in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) undergoing transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TEER).

Methods And Results: Outcomes were evaluated in SMR patients of a European multicentre registry according to baseline LAVi. Main analysis was performed for all-cause mortality; residual mitral regurgitation (MR) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class improvement were analysed for patients available.

Left Atrial Strain Determinants During the Cardiac Phases.

Objectives: The present study investigated the determinants of left atrial (LA) strain in all phases of the cardiac cycle.

Background: LA strain by speckle-tracking echocardiography allows the assessment of LA function in each phase of the cardiac cycle. However, its determinants and its relation with left ventricular (LV) function have not yet been fully described.

Natural Shear Wave Imaging in the Human Heart: Normal Values, Feasibility, and Reproducibility.

Left ventricular myocardial stiffness could offer superior quantification of cardiac systolic and diastolic function when compared to the current diagnostic tools. Shear wave elastography in combination with acoustic radiation force has been widely proposed to noninvasively assess tissue stiffness. Interestingly, shear waves can also result from intrinsic cardiac mechanical events (e.