Radiomics and deep learning for myocardial scar screening in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Myocardial scar burden quantified using late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), has important prognostic value in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, nearly 50% of HCM patients have no scar but undergo repeated gadolinium-based CMR over their life span. We sought to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based screening model using radiomics and deep learning (DL) features extracted from balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP) cine sequences to identify HCM patients without scar.

Genetics of Anthracycline-Associated Cardiotoxicity.

Anthracyclines are a major component of chemotherapies used in many pediatric and adult malignancies. Anthracycline-associated cardiotoxicity (ACT) is a dose-dependent adverse effect that has substantial impact on morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the identification of genetic variants associated with increased risk of ACT has the potential for significant clinical impact to improve patient care.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography for Detection of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy in Orthotopic Heart Transplant Patients.

Objective: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy is one of the leading causes of late graft failure and subsequent death in orthotopic heart transplant. Although invasive coronary angiography is the gold standard modality for detection of cardiac allograft vasculopathy, dobutamine stress echocardiography has been recently frequently used as an alternative. Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of dobutamine stress echocardiography for detection of cardiac allograft vasculopathy in transplant patients.

An Explainable Machine Learning Approach Reveals Prognostic Significance of Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: The authors implemented an explainable machine learning (ML) model to gain insight into the association between cardiac magnetic resonance markers and adverse outcomes of cardiovascular hospitalization and all-cause death (composite endpoint) in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NICM).

Background: Risk stratification of patients with NICM remains challenging. An explainable ML model has the potential to provide insight into the contributions of different risk markers in the prediction model.

Noncontrast Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Predictors of Heart Failure Hospitalization in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Background: Heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are at increased risk of future hospitalization. Contrast agents are often contra-indicated in HFpEF patients due to the high prevalence of concomitant kidney disease. Therefore, the prognostic value of a noncontrast cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for HF-hospitalization is important.

Association Between Left Ventricular Mechanical Deformation and Myocardial Fibrosis in Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy.

Background In patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy, nonischemic fibrosis detected by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance is related to adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, its relationship with left ventricular (LV) mechanical deformation parameters remains unclear. We sought to investigate the association between LV mechanics and the presence, location, and extent of fibrosis in patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy.

First study of pattern of anaphylaxis in a large tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that may cause death. The signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis have not been examined in the Saudi population before.

Objective: The present study examined the signs, symptoms, triggers, and demographic patterns of patients treated for anaphylaxis at a large tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the Saudi Arabian population: Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and outcome analysis.

Background: Current published literature on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) comes primarily from Western populations. There is no published data on clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and long-term outcome of HCM in an Arab population.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of all patients 16 years or older diagnosed with HCM at our institution.