The relationship between composite inflammatory indicators and short-term outcomes in patients with heart failure.

Background: Inflammatory markers are considered reliable indicators for predicting adverse outcomes of cardiovascular disease. However, the prognostic significance of composite inflammatory indicators such as the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), and inflammatory prognosis index (IPI), in predicting mortality among heart failure (HF) patients remains unknown.

Methods: We analyzed data from 1981 patients with HF.

Assessment of left ventricular contraction patterns using gated SPECT MPI to predict cardiac resynchronization therapy response.

Background: The U-shaped left ventricular (LV) contraction pattern, identified by MRI or echocardiography, is associated with improved CRT response. Gated SPECT MPI can measure both myocardial viability and mechanical dyssynchrony in a single scan. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship of the LV contraction pattern and the response of CRT in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB).

Development and validation of an automatic method to detect the latest contracting viable left ventricular segments to assist guide CRT therapy from gated SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to use ECG-gated SPECT MPI to detect the latest contracting viable left ventricular (LV) segments to help guide the LV probe placement used in CRT therapy and to validate segment selection against the visual integration method by experts.

Methods: For each patient, the resting ECG-gated SPECT MPI short-axis images were sampled in 3D to generate a polar map of the perfusion distribution used to determine LV myocardial viability, and to measure LV synchronicity using our phase analysis tool. In the visual integration method, two experts visually interpreted the LV viability and mechanical dyssynchrony from the short-axis images and polar maps of viability and phase, to determine the latest contracting viable segments using the 17-segment model.