Determinants and prognostic value of echocardiographic first-phase ejection fraction in aortic stenosis.

Objective: First-phase ejection fraction (EF1) is a novel measure of early left ventricular systolic dysfunction. We investigated determinants of EF1 and its prognostic value in aortic stenosis.

Methods: EF1 was measured retrospectively in participants of an echocardiography/cardiovascular magnetic resonance cohort study which recruited patients with aortic stenosis (peak aortic velocity of ≥2 m/s) between 2012 and 2014.

Ferumoxytol-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging assessing inflammation after myocardial infarction.

Objectives: Macrophages play a central role in the cellular inflammatory response to myocardial infarction (MI) and predict subsequent clinical outcomes. We aimed to assess temporal changes in cellular inflammation and tissue oedema in patients with acute MI using ultrasmallsuperparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO)-enhanced MRI.

Methods: Thirty-one patients were recruited following acute MI and followed up for 3 months with repeated T2 and USPIO-enhanced T2*-mapping MRI.