Analysis of Regional Left Ventricular Strain in Patients with Chagas Disease and Normal Left Ventricular Systolic Function.

Background: Chagas heart disease has a high socioeconomic burden, and any strategy to detect early myocardial damage is welcome. Speckle-tracking echocardiography assesses global and segmental left ventricular (LV) systolic function, yielding values of two-dimensional strain (ε). The aim of this study was to determine if patients with chronic Chagas disease and normal LV ejection fractions present abnormalities in global and segmental LV ε.

Assessment of myocardial infarction by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and long-term mortality.

Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging provides detailed anatomical information on infarction. However, few studies have investigated the association of these data with mortality after acute myocardial infarction.

Objective: To study the association between data regarding infarct size and anatomy, as obtained from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging after acute myocardial infarction, and long-term mortality.

Transthoracic impedance compared to magnetic resonance imaging in the assessment of cardiac output.

Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging is considered the gold-standard method for the calculation of cardiac volumes. Transthoracic impedance cardiography assesses the cardiac output. No studies validating this measurement, in comparison to that obtained by magnetic resonance imaging, are available.

Free and open-source software application for the evaluation of coronary computed tomography angiography images.

Background: The standardization of images used in Medicine in 1993 was performed using the DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standard. Several tests use this standard and it is increasingly necessary to design software applications capable of handling this type of image; however, these software applications are not usually free and open-source, and this fact hinders their adjustment to most diverse interests.

Objective: To develop and validate a free and open-source software application capable of handling DICOM coronary computed tomography angiography images.

Risk of coronary artery disease in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Unlabelled: Current treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has improved survival and allowed infected patients to develop atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). Specific strategies to reduce cardiovascular risk in the infected population have not been developed. It is necessary to know the magnitude of cardiovascular risk in this population.

Prognostic value of CT angiography in patients with inconclusive functional stress tests.

Objectives: We attempted to determine the prognostic value of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) in patients with inconclusive functional stress tests.

Background: Patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) and inconclusive noninvasive cardiac stress tests represent a frequent management challenge.

Methods: We examined 529 consecutive patients with suspected CAD and prior inconclusive functional stress tests.

Quantification of left ventricular infarcted mass on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging: comparison between planimetry and the semiquantitative visual scoring method.

Objective: To compare a new semiquantitative visual scoring method with quantitative digital planimetry for determining left ventricular infarcted mass by use of cardiac delayed contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.

Method: Seventy-seven patients with previous myocardial infarction underwent delayed contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging using a 1.5T device for assessing myocardial viability and calculating the infarcted mass.