Follow-up of coronary artery patency after implantation of bioresorbable coronary scaffolds: The emerging role of magnetic coronary artery imaging.

Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVSs) represent the newest tool in the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). Conversely to the previous metal stents and thanks to the polylactate-based backbone, BVSs could be visualized by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without artifacts. These properties allow a potential non-invasive assessment of coronary artery patency after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), avoiding cardiac catheterization included iodine contrast and radiation exposure, and potentially more sophisticated imaging tool as the optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Left Main Coronary Artery Atresia in Young Man Examined With 99mTc-Tetrofosmin SPECT: A Rare and Challenging Anomaly.

A young man underwent Tc-tetrofosmin cardiac SPECT/CT for the evaluation of the 8-month history of exertional dyspnea without chest pain. Tc-tetrofosmin SPECT demonstrated absence of perfusion defects and a mildly decreased uptake in post-stress images, consistent with artifact, in the inferior myocardium. Cardiac catheterization showed a large right and a small left coronary artery opacified retrogradely by right collateral vessels without connections between the left main and the left coronary artery.

Role of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy in predicting global cardiovascular risk and differentiating between patients with moderate and high cardiovascular risk.

Objective: The usefulness of stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) for cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification in patients at moderate and high CV risk remains controversial. We tested the hypothesis that different clinical risk profiles influence the test and the likelihood of obtaining a positive coronary angiography (CA) in the following 12 months.

Methods: We assessed the prognostic value of MPS in 230 patients classified according to the European Society of Cardiology guidelines.

Differentiation of cardiac thrombus from cardiac tumor combining cardiac MRI and 18F-FDG-PET/CT Imaging.

Radiological differentiation of an unknown cardiac masse is often a challenging issue. 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging was performed to evaluate a left ventricle mass visualized on transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in a patient with an history of ischemic heart disease. The metabolically inert area on the PET/CT, corresponding to the relatively homogenous hypodensity in the LV, was thought to represent an old organized LV thrombus.

Concomitant peripheral vascular and coronary artery disease: a new dimension for the global endovascular specialist?

Background: Early and accurate diagnosis of peripheral atherosclerosis is of paramount importance for global ma agement of patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD).

Hypothesis: We sought to evaluate retrospectively the prevalence and clinical relevance of significant abdominal vessel stenosis or aneurysm (AVA) in patients undergoing coronary angiography.

Methods: Medical records of consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiography at two public institutions over a 12-month period were evaluated.

Angiographic characteristics of renal arterial disease over the spectrum of coronary artery disease.

Background/aim: The angiographic characteristics of renal artery stenoses (RAS) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) have not been yet fully investigated. We sought to evaluate the angiographic characteristics of RAS in patients with CAD.

Methods: The medical records of consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiography in a single public institution over a 12-month period were evaluated.