Multimodality Imaging Approach to Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection.

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) refers to the spontaneous separation of the layers of the vessel wall caused by intramural hemorrhage, with or without an intimal tear. The "typical" SCAD patient is a middle-aged woman with few traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and it's frequently associated with pregnancy. Because of its low incidence, its pathophysiology is not fully understood.

COVID-19 Myocarditis: Prognostic Role of Bedside Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography and Association with Total Scar Burden.

SARS-CoV2 infection, responsible for the COVID-19 disease, can determine cardiac as well as respiratory injury. In COVID patients, viral myocarditis can represent an important cause of myocardial damage. Clinical presentation of myocarditis is heterogeneous.

Volumetric assessment of tumor size changes in pediatric low-grade gliomas: feasibility and comparison with linear measurements.

Purpose: We report a retrospective comparison between bi-dimensional RANO criteria and manual volumetric segmentation (MVS) in pediatric low-grade gliomas.

Methods: MRI FLAIR or T1 post contrast images were used for assessment of tumor response. Seventy patients were included in this single center study, for each patient two scans were assessed ("time 0" and "end of therapy") and response to therapy was evaluated for both methods.

Unexplained Cardiac Arrest After Near Drowning in a Young Experienced Swimmer: Insight from Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) is a well-established noninvasive imaging modality in clinical cardiology. Its ability to provide tissue characterization make it well suited for the study of patients with cardiac diseases. We describe a multi-modality imaging evaluation of a 45-year-old man who experienced a near drowning event during swimming.

Multi-slice computed tomography assessment of stent position in a patient with acute coronary syndrome and anomalous origin of the coronary arteries.

We describe the case of a woman with acute coronary syndrome who was treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and stenting of the proximal right coronary artery, which shared its short origin with the left anterior descending artery. A multi-slice computed tomography study of the patient's coronary tree, performed after percutaneous treatment, played a fundamental role in obtaining a clearer view of the coronary anatomy, as well as of stent positioning in this particular anatomy, eliminating any doubt about the PCI result.

Plaque imaging with CT coronary angiography: Effect of intra-vascular attenuation on plaque type classification.

Aim: To assess the attenuation of non-calcified atherosclerotic coronary artery plaques with computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA).

Methods: Four hundred consecutive patients underwent CTCA (Group 1: 200 patients, Sensation 64 Cardiac, Siemens; Group 2: 200 patients, VCT GE Healthcare, with either Iomeprol 400 or Iodixanol 320, respectively) for suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). CTCA was performed using standard protocols.

Left and right ventricle assessment with Cardiac CT: validation study vs. Cardiac MR.

Objectives: To compare Magnetic Resonance (MR) and Computed Tomography (CT) for the assessment of left (LV) and right (RV) ventricular functional parameters.

Methods: Seventy nine patients underwent both Cardiac CT and Cardiac MR. Images were acquired using short axis (SAX) reconstructions for CT and 2D cine b-SSFP (balanced-steady state free precession) SAX sequence for MR, and evaluated using dedicated software.

Prognostic value of coronary artery calcium score and coronary CT angiography in patients with intermediate risk of coronary artery disease.

The aim of this study was to compare the prognostic value of coronary calcium scoring and coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography in assessing the cardiac risk and its temporal characteristics in patients at intermediate pre-test likelihood of coronary artery disease (CAD). Cardiac CT was performed in 326 patients at intermediate (15-85%) pre-test likelihood of CAD to evaluate calcium score and presence and severity of the disease. Patients were followed-up for the occurrence of major cardiac events (cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and unstable angina requiring revascularization).

Magnetic resonance assessment of left ventricular volumes and mass using a single-breath-hold 3D k-t BLAST cine b-SSFP in comparison with multiple-breath-hold 2D cine b-SSFP.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of single-breath-hold three-dimensional cine b-SSFP (balanced steady-state free precession gradient echo) sequence (3D-cine), accelerated with k-t BLAST (broad-use linear acquisition speed-up technique), compared with multiple-breath-hold 2D cine b-SSFP (2D-cine) sequence for assessment of left ventricular (LV) function.

Methods: Imaging was performed using 1.5-T MRI (Achieva, Philips, The Netherlands) in 46 patients with different cardiac diseases.

Prognostic value of CT coronary angiography in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects with suspected CAD: importance of presenting symptoms.

Aim: To assess the prognostic relevance of 64-slice computed tomography coronary angiography (CT-CA) and symptoms in diabetics and non-diabetics referred for cardiac evaluation.

Methods: We followed 210 patients with diabetes type 2 (DM) and 203 non-diabetic patients referred for CT-CA for ruling out coronary artery disease (CAD). Patients were without known history of CAD and were divided into four categories on the basis of symptoms at presentation (none, atypical angina, typical angina and dyspnoea).

Assessment of coronary artery disease and calcified coronary plaque burden by computed tomography in patients with and without diabetes mellitus.

Purpose: To compare the coronary atherosclerotic burden in patients with and without type-2 diabetes using CT Coronary Angiography (CTCA).

Methods And Materials: 147 diabetic (mean age: 65 ± 10 years; male: 89) and 979 nondiabetic patients (mean age: 61 ± 13 years; male: 567) without a history of coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent CTCA. The per-patient number of diseased coronary segments was determined and each diseased segment was classified as showing obstructive lesion (luminal narrowing >50%) or not.

Major adverse cardiac events and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis assessed by computed tomography coronary angiography in an outpatient population with suspected or known coronary artery disease.

Purpose: To investigate the predictive value of 64-slice computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) for major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD).

Materials And Methods: Seven hundred and sixty-seven consecutive patients (496 men, age 62±11 y) with suspected or known heart disease referred to an outpatient clinic underwent 64-slice CTCA. The patients were followed for the occurrence of MACE (ie, cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina).

CT coronary angiography and exercise ECG in a population with chest pain and low-to-intermediate pre-test likelihood of coronary artery disease.

Objective: To evaluate diagnostic accuracy of exercise ECG (ex-ECG) versus 64-slice CT coronary angiography (CT-CA) for the detection of significant coronary artery stenosis in a population with low-to-intermediate pre-test likelihood of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Design: Retrospective single centre.

Setting: Tertiary academic hospital.

Time course of infarct healing and left ventricular remodelling in patients with reperfused ST segment elevation myocardial infarction using comprehensive magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: To describe the time course of myocardial infarct (MI) healing and left ventricular (LV) remodelling and to assess factors predicting LV remodelling using cardiac MRI.

Methods: In 58 successfully reperfused MI patients, MRI was performed at baseline, 4 months (4M), and 1 year (1Y) post MI RESULTS: Infarct size decreased between baseline and 4M (p < 0.001), but not at 1Y; i.

Calcified anterior myocardial infarction depicted by cardiac MRI.

We present the case of a 68-year-old man with previous history of myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass grafting. An initial chest X-ray showed a curvilinear calcification involving the left-sided profile of the mediastinal shadow. Cardiac MRI cine images demonstrated findings compatible with a calcified anterior myocardial infarction.

Impact of myocardial haemorrhage on left ventricular function and remodelling in patients with reperfused acute myocardial infarction.

Aims: Myocardial haemorrhage is a common complication following reperfusion of ST-segment-elevation acute myocardial infarction (MI). Although its presence is clearly related to infarct size, at present it is unknown whether post-reperfusion haemorrhage affects left ventricular (LV) remodelling. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to identify MI, myocardial haemorrhage, and microvascular obstruction (MVO), as well as measure LV volumes, function, and mass.