Cardiac troponin concentrations following exercise and the association with cardiovascular disease and outcomes: rationale and design of the prospective TREAT cohort study.

Exercise can produce transient elevations of cardiac troponin (cTn) concentrations, which may resemble the cTn release profile of myocardial infarction. Consequently, clinical interpretation of postexercise cTn elevations (ie, values above the 99th percentile upper reference limit) remains challenging and may cause clinical confusion. Therefore, insight into the physiological versus pathological nature of postexercise cTn concentrations is warranted.

Radiation dose reduction of 50% in dynamic myocardial CT perfusion with skipped beat acquisition: a retrospective study.

Background: Dynamic myocardial computed tomography perfusion (CTP) is a novel imaging technique that increases the applicability of CT for cardiac imaging; however, the scanning requires a substantial radiation dose.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of dose reduction in dynamic CTP by comparing all-heartbeat acquisitions to periodic skipping of heartbeats.

Material And Methods: We retrieved imaging data of 38 dynamic CTP patients and created new datasets with every fourth, third or second beat (Skip1:4, Skip1:3, Skip1:2, respectively) removed.

Prognostic implications of invasive hemodynamics during cardiac resynchronization therapy: Stroke work outperforms dP/dt.

Background: Invasive measurements of left ventricular (LV) hemodynamic performance can evaluate acute response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Objective: The study sought to determine which metric, maximum rate of LV pressure rise (LV dP/dt) or LV stroke work (LVSW), is more strongly associated with long-term prognosis.

Methods: CRT patients were prospectively included from 3 academic centers.

Left ventricular strain-volume loops and myocardial fibrosis in pediatric patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Background: The left ventricular strain-volume loop (SVL) combines changes in global longitudinal strain (GLS) and LV volume across a cardiac cycle, providing insight into cardiac dynamics. This study explored the association between left ventricular SVL and presence of fibrosis, assessed with late gadolinium enhancement, in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Methods And Results: 34 pediatric patients with DMD were included.

Left ventricular deformation and myocardial fibrosis in pediatric patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Background: Left ventricular (LV) strain and rotation are emerging functional markers for early detection of LV dysfunction and have been associated with the burden of myocardial fibrosis in several disease states. This study examined the association between LV deformation (i.e.