Differentiating cardiac amyloidosis and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by use of three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography.

Introduction: Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are important differential diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy. The aim of this study was to investigate if three-dimensional (3D) speckle tracking-derived functional parameters enabled differentiation of CA and HCM by a disease-specific pattern.

Methods: Twelve patients with CA and 12 patients with HCM were included.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance of myocardial infarction after blunt chest trauma: a heartbreaking soccer-shot.

Cardiac injury occasionally occurs as a result of blunt chest trauma. Most cardiac complications in chest trauma are due to myocardial contusion rather than direct damage to the coronary arteries. However, traumatic coronary injury has been reported, and a variety of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms have been proposed.

Diagnostic synergy of non-invasive cardiovascular magnetic resonance and invasive endomyocardial biopsy in troponin-positive patients without coronary artery disease.

Aims: Only few data are available regarding a direct comparison of both non-invasive CMR and invasive EMB with respect to conformity of procedure-derived diagnoses in the same patients. The aim of this study was to elucidate the diagnostic performance of non-invasive cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) in patients with troponin-I (TnI) positive acute chest pain in the absence of significant coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods And Results: One thousand one hundred and seventy-four consecutive patients who were admitted with TnI-positive acute chest pain between March 2004 and July 2007 underwent coronary angiography.

Echocardiographic assessment and monitoring of the clinical course in a patient with Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy by a novel 3D-speckle-tracking-strain analysis.

Using real-time 3D-speckle-tracking in the clinical course of Tako-Tsubo turned out as a quick and feasible tool for recognition and follow-up of wall motion abnormalities.

Cardiac involvement in patients with Becker muscular dystrophy: new diagnostic and pathophysiological insights by a CMR approach.

Background: Becker-Kiener muscular dystrophy (BMD) represents an X-linked genetic disease associated with myocardial involvement potentially resulting in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Early diagnosis of cardiac involvement may permit earlier institution of heart failure treatment and extend life span in these patients. Both echocardiography and nuclear imaging methods are capable of detecting later stages of cardiac involvement characterised by wall motion abnormalities.