Reproducibility of rest and exercise stress contrast-enhanced calf perfusion magnetic resonance imaging in peripheral arterial disease.

Background: The purpose was to determine the reproducibility and utility of rest, exercise, and perfusion reserve (PR) measures by contrast-enhanced (CE) calf perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the calf in normal subjects (NL) and patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Methods: Eleven PAD patients with claudication (ankle-brachial index 0.67 ±0.

Arterial spin labeling MR imaging reproducibly measures peak-exercise calf muscle perfusion: a study in patients with peripheral arterial disease and healthy volunteers.

Objectives: This study hypothesized that arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 3-T would be a reliable noncontrast technique for measuring peak exercise calf muscle blood flow in both healthy volunteers and patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and will discriminate between these groups.

Background: Prior work demonstrated the utility of first-pass gadolinium-enhanced calf muscle perfusion MR imaging in patients with PAD. However, patients with PAD often have advanced renal disease and cannot receive gadolinium.

Elevated circulating fibrocyte levels in patients with hypertensive heart disease.

Objective: Autopsy and biopsy studies have shown that there is significantly more fibrosis in hearts of patients with hypertensive heart disease compared to normal hearts. Fibrocytes, a population of circulating bone marrow-derived cells, have been shown to home to tissues and promote scar formation in several diseases, but their role in human hypertensive heart disease has not been investigated to date. Our objective was to determine whether fibrocyte levels are elevated in individuals with hypertensive heart disease.

Low-density lipoprotein lowering does not improve calf muscle perfusion, energetics, or exercise performance in peripheral arterial disease.

Objectives: We hypothesized that low-density lipoprotein (LDL) reduction regardless of mechanism would improve calf muscle perfusion, energetics, or walking performance in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) as measured by magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Background: Statins improve cardiovascular outcome in PAD, and some studies suggest improved walking performance.

Methods: Sixty-eight patients with mild to moderate symptomatic PAD (age 65 ± 11 years; ankle-brachial index [ABI] 0.

The effect of ezetimibe on peripheral arterial atherosclerosis depends upon statin use at baseline.

Background: Both statins and ezetimibe lower LDL-C, but ezetimibe's effect on atherosclerosis is controversial. We hypothesized that lowering LDL-C cholesterol by adding ezetimibe to statin therapy would regress atherosclerosis measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) in peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Methods: Atherosclerotic plaque volume was measured in the proximal 15-20 cm of the SFA in 67 PAD patients (age 63 ± 10, ABI 0.