Coronary perfusion pressure is associated with adverse outcomes in advanced heart failure.

Background: Myocardial perfusion is an important determinant of cardiac function. We hypothesized that low coronary perfusion pressure (CPP) would be associated with adverse outcomes in heart failure. Myocardial perfusion impacts the contractile efficiency thus a low CPP would signal low myocardial perfusion in the face of increased cardiac demand as a result of volume overload

Methods: We analyzed patients with complete hemodynamic data in the Evaluation Study of Congestive Heart Failure and Pulmonary Artery Catheterization Effectiveness trial using Cox Proportional Hazards regression for the primary outcome of the composite risk of death, heart transplantation, or left ventricular assist device [(LVAD).

Increased left and right atrial volume indices are associated with decreased survival times post-cardiac arrest.

Background: Left and right atrial volume indices (LAVI and RAVI) are markers of cardiac remodeling. LAVI and RAVI are associated with worse outcomes in other cardiac conditions. This study aimed to determine the associations of these atrial volume indices with survival time post-cardiac arrest.

Relationship of ejection fraction and natriuretic peptide trajectories in heart failure with baseline reduced and mid-range ejection fraction.

Background: The prognostic importance of trajectories of neurohormones relative to left ventricular function over time in heart failure with reduced and mid-range EF (HFrEF and HFmrEF) is poorly defined.

Objective: To evaluate left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) trajectories in HFrEF and HFmrEF.

Methods: Analyses of LVEF and BNP trajectories after incident HF admissions presenting with abnormal LV systolic function were performed using 3 methods: a Cox proportional hazards model with time-varying covariates, a dual longitudinal-survival model with shared random effects, and an unsupervised analysis to capture 3 discrete trajectories for each parameter.

Pulmonary Artery Proportional Pulse Pressure (PAPP) Index Identifies Patients With Improved Survival From the CardioMEMS Implantable Pulmonary Artery Pressure Monitor.

Background: Pulmonary artery proportional pulse pressure (PAPP) was recently shown to have prognostic value in heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and pulmonary hypertension. We tested the hypothesis that PAPP would be predictive of adverse outcomes in patients with implantable pulmonary artery pressure monitor (CardioMEMS™ HF System, St. Jude Medical [now Abbott], Atlanta, GA, USA).

Absence of Fibrosis and Inflammation by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Low to Moderate Disease Activity.

Objective: The prevalence of heart failure is increased 2-fold in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); this is not explained by ischemic heart disease or other risk factors for heart failure. We hypothesized that in patients with RA without known heart disease, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) would detect altered cardiac structure, function, and fibrosis.

Methods: We performed 1.

Automatic high-resolution infarct detection using volumetric multiphase dual-energy CT.

Objectives: Late contrast enhancement CT (LCE-CT) visualizes the presence of myocardial infarcts. Differentiation of the contrast-enhanced infarct from blood pool is challenging. We developed a novel method using data from first pass CT angiography (CTA) imaging to enable automatic infarct detection.

Pigmented villonodular synovitis mimics metastases on fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose position emission tomography-computed tomography.

Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a benign joint disease best characterized on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The role of fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) position emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) in the diagnosis or characterization remains unclear. PVNS displays as a focal FDG avid lesion, which can masquerade as a metastatic lesion, on PET-CET.