Age-dependent hypertrophy and fibrosis dynamics in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Insights from longitudinal CMR studies.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the progression of morphological and functional alterations over time in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) using Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with HCM who underwent serial CMR at 1.5 Tesla.

Intraoperative Polymerase Chain Reaction from Cardiac Valve Tissue Is Beneficial for Guiding Further Therapy in Patients with Infective Endocarditis.

: Infectious endocarditis (IE) remains a critical condition despite all the medical advances in recent decades. Reliable pathogen identification is indispensable for precise therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic benefit of additional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in comparison with microbiological culture alone based on intraoperative tissue sampling for patients operated on due to IE.

Layer-specific fast strain-encoded cardiac magnetic resonance imaging aids in the identification and discrimination of acute myocardial injury: a prospective proof-of-concept study.

Background: Acute myocardial injury is a common diagnosis in the emergency department and differential diagnoses are numerous. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) strain sequences, such as fast strain ENCoded (fSENC), are early predictors of myocardial function loss. This study assessed the potential diagnostic and prognostic benefits of a layer-specific approach.

Predictors of persistent symptoms after mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-related myocarditis (myovacc registry).

Aims: Epidemiological surveillance has raised safety concerns for mRNA SARS-CoV-2-vaccination-related myocarditis. We aimed to analyze epidemiological, clinical and imaging findings associated with clinical outcomes in these patients in an international multi-center registry (NCT05268458).

Methods And Results: Patients with clinical and CMR diagnosis of acute myocarditis within 30 days after mRNA SARS-CoV-2-vaccination were included from five centers in Canada and Germany between 05/21 and 01/22.

Safety of Stress Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Patients With Moderate to Severe Aortic Valve Stenosis.

Background: Dobutamine and adenosine stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is relatively contraindicated in patients with moderate to severe aortic valve stenosis (AS). We aimed to determine the safety of dobutamine and adenosine stress CMR in patients with moderate to severe AS.

Methods: In this retrospective study patients with AS who underwent either dobutamine or adenosine stress CMR for exclusion of obstructive coronary artery disease were enrolled.

Case report: Case series of isolated acute pericarditis after SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations.

During the worldwide ongoing immunization campaign against SARS-CoV-2, growing data on very rare but potentially harmful side effects of such vaccines arise since approval trials have not been adequately powered to detect those events. Besides the already reported vaccine-related myocarditis, which primarily occurs in young male individuals, our attention was recently drawn to a series of older male and female patients, who were referred to our institutions with isolated acute pericarditis without myocardial damage, shortly after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. We describe a series of five adult patients presenting with chest pain, shortness of breath and isolated pericarditis with and without pericardial effusion after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

Hypverventilation strain CMR imaging in patients with acute chest pain.

In patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome high-sensitivity cardiac tropnonin T is used for rapid patient triage. Some acute coronary syndrome patients assigned to the observe zone based on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T after 1 h require further diagnostic testing. Fast-strain encoded CMR imaging with breathing maneuvers may accelerate diagnostic work-up and identify patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome.

Impact of Homoarginine on Myocardial Function and Remodeling in a Rat Model of Chronic Renal Failure.

Purpose: Low plasma concentrations of the amino acid homoarginine (HA) have been shown to correlate with adverse cardiovascular outcome, particularly in patients with chronic kidney disease. The present study sought to investigate the effect of HA treatment on cardiac remodeling in rats undergoing artificially induced renal insufficiency by 5/6 nephrectomy (5/6 Nx).

Methods: A total of 33 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham and 5/6 Nx groups, receiving either placebo treatment or 400 mg·kg·day HA over a 4-week period.

Dynamic Handgrip Exercise: Feasibility and Physiologic Stress Response of a Potential Needle-Free Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Stress Test.

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) pharmacological stress-testing is a well-established technique for detecting myocardial ischemia. Although stressors and contrast agents seem relatively safe, contraindications and side effects must be considered. Substantial costs are further limiting its applicability.

Myocardial mechanics in dilated cardiomyopathy: prognostic value of left ventricular torsion and strain.

Background: Data on the prognostic value of left ventricular (LV) morphological and functional parameters including LV rotation in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) are currently scarce. In this study, we assessed the prognostic value of global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS), global radial strain (GRS) and LV torsion using CMR feature tracking (FT).

Methods: CMR was performed in 350 DCM patients and 70 healthy subjects across 5 different European CMR Centers.

Causes of altered ventricular mechanics in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: an in-silico study.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is typically caused by mutations in sarcomeric genes leading to cardiomyocyte disarray, replacement fibrosis, impaired contractility, and elevated filling pressures. These varying tissue properties are associated with certain strain patterns that may allow to establish a diagnosis by means of non-invasive imaging without the necessity of harmful myocardial biopsies or contrast agent application. With a numerical study, we aim to answer: how the variability in each of these mechanisms contributes to altered mechanics of the left ventricle (LV) and if the deformation obtained in in-silico experiments is comparable to values reported from clinical measurements.

The impact of Wilson disease on myocardial tissue and function: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance study.

Background: Systemic effects of altered serum copper processing in Wilson Disease (WD) might induce myocardial copper deposition and consequently myocardial dysfunction and structural remodeling. This study sought to investigate the prevalence, manifestation and predictors of myocardial tissue abnormalities in WD patients.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled WD patients and an age-matched group of healthy individuals.

Feasibility of fast cardiovascular magnetic resonance strain imaging in patients presenting with acute chest pain.

Background: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is the current reference standard for the quantitative assessment of ventricular function. Fast Strain-ENCoded (fSENC)-CMR imaging allows for the assessment of myocardial deformation within a single heartbeat. The aim of this pilot study was to identify obstructive coronary artery disease (oCAD) with fSENC-CMR in patients presenting with new onset of chest pain.

Hyperventilation/Breath-Hold Maneuver to Detect Myocardial Ischemia by Strain-Encoded CMR: Diagnostic Accuracy of a Needle-Free Stress Protocol.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a fast, needle-free test for myocardial ischemia using fast Strain-ENCoded (fSENC) cardiovascular MR (CMR) after a hyperventilation/breath-hold maneuver (HVBH).

Background: Myocardial stress testing is one of the most frequent diagnostic tests performed. Recent data indicate that CMR first-pass perfusion outperforms other modalities.

Estimating cardiac active tension from wall motion-An inverse problem of cardiac biomechanics.

The contraction of the human heart is a complex process as a consequence of the interaction of internal and external forces. In current clinical routine, the resulting deformation can be imaged during an entire heart beat. However, the active tension development cannot be measured in vivo but may provide valuable diagnostic information.

Pulmonary vein isolation treats symptomatic AF in a patient with Lamin A/C mutation: case report and review of the literature.

[Image: see text]

Gender-specific reference values for high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T and I in well-phenotyped healthy individuals and validity of high-sensitivity assay designation.

Objective: To determine gender-specific reference limits of high-sensitivity (hs) cardiac troponins (cTn) and validity of hs assay designation for both genders.

Methods: After screening with a questionnaire, 827 presumably healthy individuals were further selected based on clinical criteria (n = 740), clinical criteria plus cardiac imaging including stress magnetic resonance imaging or stress echocardiography (n = 726), and extended cardio-pulmonary parameters (n = 626). Blood samples were measured with hs-cTnT (Roche Diagnostics) on a cobas e602 analyzer as well as hs-cTnI (Abbott Diagnostics) on an ARCHITECT2000.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance of cardiac morphology and function: impact of different strategies of contour drawing and indexing.

Background: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is the gold standard for the quantitative assessment of cardiac volumes, mass and function. There are, however, various strategies for establishing endocardial borders, the cardiac phase used for measurements and the body dimensions used for indexing these results. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of different strategies on reference values.

Echocardiographic calcification score in patients with low/intermediate cardiovascular risk.

Purpose: Calcification of aortic valve and mitral annulus is associated with cardiovascular risk factors, morbidity and mortality. Assessment of cardiac calcification with echocardiography is feasible, however, only few structured scoring systems have been established so far with limited prognostic data. This study aimed to evaluate an echocardiographic calcification score (echo-CCS) in patients with low/intermediate cardiovascular risk.

Variability of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) T1 mapping parameters in healthy volunteers during long-term follow-up.

Background: Myocardial T1 and extracellular volume (ECV) derived from cardiovascular MRIs are more and more widely accepted as important markers for diagnosis, risk prediction and monitoring of cardiac disease. Yet data regarding long-term stability of myocardial T1 mapping are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term stability of native and postcontrast T1 mapping values in healthy volunteers.