Publications by authors named "W Duvall"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated the effects of tafamidis treatment on cardiac amyloidosis using Tc-99m-PYP SPECT/CT imaging, focusing on changes in tracer uptake over time.
  • A total of 22 patients were followed for an average of 16.8 months, with significant reductions in standardized uptake values (SUVs) and other metrics indicating decreased amyloid burden in the heart.
  • The findings suggest that tafamidis therapy reduces cardiac amyloidosis, but further research is necessary to refine the quantification process and establish optimal measurement techniques.
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There are limited reports on the impact of prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) on the regression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We compared the relative effects of supra-annular, self-expanding (SE) versus intra-annular, balloon-expandable (BE) prostheses on TAVR LVH regression. Regression of left ventricular mass index (LVMi) was evaluated in 168 consecutive TAVR patients, including 60 treated with SE valves (Evolut series) and 108 treated with BE valves (Sapien 3).

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Stress-first approaches to myocardial perfusion imaging provide diagnostically and prognostically accurate perfusion data equivalent to a full rest-stress study while saving time in the imaging laboratory and reducing the radiation exposure to patients and laboratory staff. Unfortunately, implementing a stress-first approach in a nuclear cardiology laboratory involves significant challenges such as the need for attenuation correction, triage of patients to an appropriate protocol, real-time review of stress images, and consideration of differential reimbursement. Despite it being best practice for both the patient and the laboratory, these impediments have kept the proportions of studies performed stress-first relatively unchanged in North America and world-wide in the last 10 years.

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