Publications by authors named "Bernd Wintersperger"

Article Synopsis
  • Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is linked to atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial fibrosis, but many AF patients show no signs of left atrial (LA) fibrosis. This study compared EAT levels in AF patients without LA fibrosis to matched controls without AF.
  • AF patients without LA fibrosis had significantly higher total and regional volumes of EAT compared to controls, indicating that EAT may play a role in AF development even when LA fibrosis is absent.
  • The study found no differences in EAT volumes between AF patients with and without LA fibrosis and no significant link between EAT volume and AF recurrence after catheter ablation.
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To evaluate whether single-exposure, dual-energy chest X-ray (DEX) improves visualization of coronary artery calcium (CAC) and valve/vascular calcifications compared to conventional X-ray. Sixty-one bone-marrow transplant patients (22- 79 years; median 61; IQR 15; w/m, 24/37), underwent single-exposure dual-energy X-ray (Reveal 35C, KA imaging) in pa and lateral projection, followed by a standard-of-care chest CT. Two DEX pairs (pa/lateral) were calculated: a composite image (COMP) and a bone image with soft-tissue subtraction (BI).

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Article Synopsis
  • - Cardiovascular imaging is becoming increasingly important for diagnosing and managing cardiovascular disease, highlighting the need for standardized practices.
  • - The European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR) aims to enhance the credibility and quality of their scientific documents through a rigorous consensus development methodology.
  • - By establishing clear guidelines for producing ESCR documents, the society seeks to improve the overall impact on patient management and health outcomes in cardiovascular care.
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Unlabelled: Cardiovascular MR imaging has become an indispensable noninvasive tool in diagnosing and monitoring a broad range of cardiovascular diseases. Key to its clinical success and efficiency are appropriate clinical indication triage, technical expertise, patient safety, standardized preparation and execution, quality assurance, efficient post-processing, structured reporting, and communication and clinical integration of findings. Technological advancements are driving faster, more accessible, and cost-effective approaches.

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Background: GadaCAD2 was 1 of 2 international, multicenter, prospective, Phase 3 clinical trials that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of gadobutrol to assess myocardial perfusion and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in adults with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

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Background Many patients have persistent cardiac symptoms after mild COVID-19. However, studies assessing the relationship between symptoms and cardiac imaging are limited. Purpose To assess the relationship between multi-modality cardiac imaging parameters, symptoms, and clinical outcomes in patients recovered from mild COVID-19 compared to COVID-19 negative controls.

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Background And Aims: Anthracyclines can cause cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD). We aimed to assess whether statins prevent decline in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in anthracycline-treated patients at increased risk for CTRCD.

Methods: In this multicenter double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, patients with cancer at increased risk of anthracycline-related CTRCD (per ASCO guidelines) were randomly assigned to atorvastatin 40 mg or placebo once-daily.

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Importance: There is a growing interest in understanding whether cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) myocardial tissue characterization helps identify risk of cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD).

Objective: To describe changes in CMR tissue biomarkers during breast cancer therapy and their association with CTRCD.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a prospective, multicenter, cohort study of women with ERBB2 (formerly HER2)-positive breast cancer (stages I-III) who were scheduled to receive anthracycline and trastuzumab therapy with/without adjuvant radiotherapy and surgery.

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Introduction/background: Within radiology departments, alignment of available imaging capacity with demand across different patient groups helps ensure that all patient populations are receiving timely and equitable care. The objective of the MRI Schedule Optimization project was to implement a 5-step framework to review and update the current MRI schedule templates at the Joint Department of Medical Imaging (JDMI) to ensure optimal alignment with demand across patient populations.

Methods: The project, governed by clinical and clerical stakeholders and operational leadership (Owners), followed a 5-step process: (1) Analysis of baseline data related to MRI demand and current schedule composition (2) Current state assessment of MRI operations via interviews and observations (3) Updating of schedules to align with demand (4) Review of process improvement opportunities (5) Go-live planning and evaluation.

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Background: Echocardiographic global longitudinal strain (GLS) is a useful measure for detection of cancer treatment-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) but is influenced by blood pressure changes. This limitation may be overcome by assessment of myocardial work (MW), which incorporates blood pressure into the calculation.

Objectives: This work aims to determine whether myocardial work indices (MWIs) can help diagnose or prognosticate CTRCD.

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Background There are limited data on the incremental value of parametric mapping compared with core cardiac MRI protocols for suspected cardiomyopathy in routine clinical practice. Purpose To evaluate the impact of cardiac MRI T1 and T2 mapping in routine clinical practice with respect to diagnostic accuracy, reader diagnostic confidence, and downstream cardiac imaging utilization. Materials and Methods In this retrospective single-center study, consecutive clinical cardiac MRI scans obtained with and without T1 and T2 mapping for evaluation of suspected cardiomyopathy between January 2017 and October 2019 were evaluated.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on diagnosing cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) in women with HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer, emphasizing the challenges faced in using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) for consistent assessment due to limited access to repeated scans.
  • Researchers aimed to create a diagnostic model that combines echocardiographic left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), strain measurements, and biomarker levels, using CMR as the gold standard for validation.
  • Out of 160 recruited patients, 136 completed the study, and CMR identified CTRCD in 27% of them; various echocardiographic measures and biomarkers were analyzed to improve the accuracy of diagnosing CTRCD.
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Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved outcomes for many types of cancer. However, ICI therapies are associated with the development of myocarditis, an immune-mediated adverse event associated with a high mortality rate. Therefore, prompt diagnosis and early intervention are of outmost importance.

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Importance: Although myocardial injury can occur with acute COVID-19, there is limited understanding of changes with myocardial metabolism in recovered patients.

Objective: To examine myocardial metabolic changes early after recovery from COVID-19 using fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (PET) and associate these changes to abnormalities in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based function and tissue characterization measures and inflammatory blood markers.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective cohort study took place at a single-center tertiary referral hospital system.

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Background: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is reduced in cancer survivors and predicts cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related and all-cause mortality. However, routine measurement of CRF is not always feasible.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify clinical, cardiac biomarker, and imaging measures associated with reduced peak oxygen consumption (VOpeak) (measure of CRF) early post-breast cancer therapy to help inform CVD risk.

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Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely applied for the noninvasive assessment of cardiac structure and function, and for tissue characterization. For more than 2 decades, 1.5 T has been considered the field strength of choice for cardiac MRI.

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Background: Myocarditis is a potentially fatal complication of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. Data on the utility of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) T1 and T2 mapping in ICI myocarditis are limited.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the value of CMR T1 and T2 mapping in patients with ICI myocarditis.

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Objectives: This study sought to compare the prognostic value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) derived left ventricular (LV) strain, volumes, and ejection fraction for cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) in women with early stage breast cancer.

Background: There are limited comparative data on the association of CMR and 2DE derived strain, volumes, and LVEF with CTRCD.

Methods: A total of 125 prospectively recruited women with HER2+ early stage breast cancer receiving sequential anthracycline/trastuzumab underwent 5 serial CMR and 6 of 2DE studies before and during treatment.

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Background: Investigation of a simple, precision optimized, identical pre-/post-contrast modified look locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) protocol employing Composite inversion group (IG) fitting in a clinical cardiomyopathy population.

Methods: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at 3 Tesla in 36 patients (48.0 years [IQR: 35.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare thoracic aortic measurements between computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE).

Materials And Methods: A total of 127 patients (mean age: 45±18 y, 49% male) who had undergone CT and MRI evaluation of the thoracic aorta at a single tertiary referral hospital within a 6-month interval between 2007 and 2017 were included in this retrospective study. TTE studies performed within the same 6-month interval were also evaluated.

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Background: Stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to screen for silent myocardial ischaemia in asymptomatic high risk patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) has never been performed, and its effectiveness is unknown. Our aim was to determine the feasibility of a screening programme using stress CMR by obtaining preliminary data on the prevalence of silent ischaemia caused by obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and quantify myocardial perfusion in asymptomatic high risk patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we recruited 63 asymptomatic DM patients (mean age 66 years ± 4.

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