Concomitant symptomatic cardiac sarcoidosis and systemic sclerosis with cardiac involvement: a case report.

Sarcoidosis and systemic sclerosis are two inflammatory multisystemic disorders of unknown etiology that may be life-threatening especially when there is cardiac involvement. Both diseases may coexist, however, there are very few case reports of patients with both cardiac sarcoidosis and systemic sclerosis in the literature. We report the case of a 72-year-old female who was initially referred for dyspnea.

Ten Questions Cardiologists Should Be Able to Answer About Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Case-Based Approach and Contemporary Review.

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory multisystemic disease of unknown etiology characterized by the formation of noncaseating epithelioid cell granulomas. Cardiac sarcoidosis might be life-threatening and its diagnosis and treatment remain a challenge nowadays. The aim of this review is to provide an updated overview of cardiac sarcoidosis and, through 10 practical clinical questions and real-life challenging case scenarios, summarize the main clinical presentation, diagnostic criteria, imaging findings, and contemporary treatment.

Lipoprotein(a), Oxidized Phospholipids, and Aortic Valve Microcalcification Assessed by 18F-Sodium Fluoride Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography.

Background: Lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) is the preferential lipoprotein carrier of oxidized phospholipids (OxPLs) and a well-established genetic risk factor for calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS). Whether Lp(a) predicts aortic valve microcalcification in individuals without CAVS is unknown. Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of elevated Lp(a) and OxPL levels in patients with CAVS and to determine if individuals with elevated Lp(a) but without CAVS have higher aortic valve microcalcification.

Genetic Variation in LPA, Calcific Aortic Valve Stenosis in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery, and Familial Risk of Aortic Valve Microcalcification.

Importance: Genetic variants at the LPA locus are associated with both calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS) and coronary artery disease (CAD). Whether these variants are associated with CAVS in patients with CAD vs those without CAD is unknown.

Objective: To study the associations of LPA variants with CAVS in a cohort of patients undergoing heart surgery and LPA with CAVS in patients with CAD vs those without CAD and to determine whether first-degree relatives of patients with CAVS and high lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) levels showed evidence of aortic valve microcalcification.

Single CT for attenuation correction of rest/stress cardiac SPECT perfusion imaging.

Common practice is to use separate CT scans acquired during rest and stress for attenuation correction of SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). We evaluated using a single CT scan to correct both rest and stress SPECT scans. Studies from 154 patients were reprocessed using one CT acquired at stress to correct both rest and stress scans (1CT) and compared to correction of each scan with its own CT (2CT).

Role of radionuclide imaging for diagnosis of device and prosthetic valve infections.

Cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infection and prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) remain a diagnostic challenge. Cardiac imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of patients with CIED infection or PVE. Over the past few years, cardiac radionuclide imaging has gained a key role in the diagnosis of these patients, and in assessing the need for surgery, mainly in the most difficult cases.

Characterization of 3-Dimensional PET Systems for Accurate Quantification of Myocardial Blood Flow.

Unlabelled: Three-dimensional (3D) mode imaging is the current standard for PET/CT systems. Dynamic imaging for quantification of myocardial blood flow with short-lived tracers, such as Rb-chloride, requires accuracy to be maintained over a wide range of isotope activities and scanner counting rates. We proposed new performance standard measurements to characterize the dynamic range of PET systems for accurate quantitative imaging.

Clinical interpretation standards and quality assurance for the multicenter PET/CT trial rubidium-ARMI.

Unlabelled: Rubidium-ARMI ((82)Rb as an Alternative Radiopharmaceutical for Myocardial Imaging) is a multicenter trial to evaluate the accuracy, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of low-dose (82)Rb perfusion imaging using 3-dimensional (3D) PET/CT technology. Standardized imaging protocols are essential to ensure consistent interpretation.

Methods: Cardiac phantom qualifying scans were obtained at 7 recruiting centers.

Usefulness of fluorine-18 positron emission tomography/computed tomography for identification of cardiovascular implantable electronic device infections.

Objectives: This study evaluated the usefulness of fluorodesoxyglucose marked by fluorine-18 ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) in patients with suspected cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infection.

Background: CIED infection is sometimes challenging to diagnose. Because extraction is associated with significant morbidity/mortality, new imaging modalities to confirm the infection and its dissemination would be of clinical value.