Intra-Atrial Dyssynchrony Using Cardiac Magnetic Resonance to Quantify Tissue Remodeling in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Recent studies suggest that left atrial (LA) late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) can quantify the underlying tissue remodeling that harbors atrial fibrillation (AF). However, quantification of LA-LGE requires labor-intensive magnetic resonance imaging acquisition and postprocessing at experienced centers. LA intra-atrial dyssynchrony assessment is an emerging imaging technique that predicts AF recurrence after catheter ablation.

Pulmonary Embolism Mortality in Brazil from 1989 to 2010: Gender and Regional Disparities.

Background: A significant variation in pulmonary embolism (PE) mortality trends have been documented around the world. We investigated the trends in mortality rate from PE in Brazil over a period of 21 years and its regional and gender differences.

Methods: Using a nationwide database of death certificate information we searched for all cases with PE as the underlying cause of death between 1989 and 2010.