Effectiveness of radiation protection systems in the cardiac catheterization laboratory: a comparative study.

Background: As numbers and complexity of percutaneous coronary interventions are constantly increasing, optimal radiation protection is required to ensure operator safety. Suspended radiation protection systems (SRPS) and protective scatter-radiation absorbing drapes (PAD) are novel methods to mitigate fluoroscopic scattered radiation exposure. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness regarding radiation protection of a SRPS and a PAD in comparison with conventional protection.

[Treatment of Heavily Calcified Coronary Lesions].

Treatment of Heavily Calcified Coronary Lesions In Switzerland and other industrialized nations, coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of death in adulthood. CHD is a chronic disease in which stenoses of the epicardial coronary arteries usually cause a deficit in blood supply to the heart muscle tissue, which can lead to chest pain, myocardial infarction, heart failure or cardiac arrhythmia and ultimately to significant morbidity and mortality. Since the first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on 16th September 1977 at the University Hospital of Zurich by Andreas Grüntzig, the field of interventional cardiology has seen remarkable progress in the treatment of coronary artery disease, especially with the development and evolution of coronary stents.

Myocardial strain characteristics and outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Background: Objective of this study was to make an assessment of standard functional and defor-mation parameters (strain) in patients after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and the evaluation of their prognostic impact.

Methods: Patients undergoing TAVR received CMR on a 1.5 T whole-body scanner at 3 months after the procedure.

Longitudinal strain assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance correlates to hemodynamic findings in patients with severe aortic stenosis and predicts positive remodeling after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Aims: To assess left-ventricular strain parameters before and after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) by feature tracking cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (FT CMR) and to correlate the findings to hemodynamic state and left-ventricular remodeling.

Methods And Results: Patients with symptomatic AS underwent FT CMR before and after TAVR. Patients were carefully evaluated by a comprehensive work-up including CMR, echocardiography and left and right heart catheterization.

Magnetic resonance Adenosine perfusion imaging as Gatekeeper of invasive coronary intervention (MAGnet): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Current guidelines for the diagnosis and management of patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) recommend functional stress testing for risk stratification prior to revascularization procedures. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is a modality of choice for stress testing because of its capability to detect myocardial ischemia sensitively and specifically. Nevertheless, evidence from randomized trials evaluating a CMR-based management of stable CAD patients in comparison to a more common angiography-based approach still is limited.

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging derived quantification of myocardial ischemia and scar improves risk stratification and patient management in stable coronary artery disease.

Background: Quantification of myocardial ischemia and necrosis might ameliorate prognostic models and lead to improved patient management. However, no standardized consensus on how to assess and quantify these parameters has been established. The aim of this study was to quantify these variables by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and to establish possible incremental implications in cardiovascular risk prediction.