Publications by authors named "Zhi-Hui Hou"
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates a new sign called the diamond-attenuation-sign (DAS) in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) to identify unstable atherosclerotic plaques, comparing it with the established napkin-ring sign (NRS).
- Eight heart transplant recipients were evaluated to assess different plaque patterns, revealing that DAS was identified more frequently than NRS.
- The results indicate that DAS has superior diagnostic performance for unstable coronary lesions compared to NRS, with both signs showing high specificity and positive predictive values.
Objectives: To explore whether radiomics-based machine learning (ML) models could outperform conventional diagnostic methods at identifying vulnerable lesions on coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA).
Methods: In this retrospective study, 36 heart transplant recipients with coronary heart disease (CAD) and end-stage heart failure were included. Pathological cross-section samples of 350 plaques were collected and coregistered to patients' preoperative CCTA images.
Residential green space and neighborhood walkability are important foundations of a healthy and sustainable city. Yet, their associations with atherosclerosis, the disease underlying clinical coronary heart disease (CHD), is unknown, especially in susceptible populations. We aim to explore the associations of exposure to residential green space and neighborhood walkability with coronary atherosclerosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Coronary atherosclerosis and cognitive impairment are both age-related diseases, with similar risk factors. Coronary artery calcium (CAC), a marker of coronary atherosclerosis, may play a role in early detection of individuals prone to cognitive decline. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between CAC and cognitive function, and the capability of CAC to identify participants with a high risk of dementia in a Chinese community-based population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A limitation associated with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is the lack of a normal reference value for aortic root dimensions and the uncertainty of the influence of age and gender on these dimensions. The purpose of the present study was to identify the normal values and variations of aortic root dimensions in healthy individuals and investigate how gender and age affect aortic root size.
Methods: A total of 1286 healthy yellow population (52.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in symptomatic patients who have a coronary artery calcium score (CACS) of zero, with a focus on different age groups.
- A total of 5,514 patients were analyzed, revealing that 25.28% had plaques and 9.32% had obstructive CAD, with both conditions significantly more common in older patients.
- The findings highlight that despite a CACS of zero, many symptomatic patients—particularly those over 40—might still have CAD, indicating that coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) is essential for proper diagnosis.
Background: Exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with cardiovascular risk, potentially via atherosclerosis promotion. The disease mechanisms underlying these associations remain uncertain.
Objectives: We aim to investigate the relationship of air pollution and traffic proximity with subclinical atherosclerosis, using coronary plaque phenotypes to gain insight into potential mechanisms.
Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered a cardiovascular risk factor. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and volume of coronary artery plaque in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) vs. those without DM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study aimed to differentiate lipid plaques in coronary arteries using CT imaging, using pathological diagnoses as the benchmark.
- Eight heart transplant patients underwent CT angiography before transplantation, and their coronary artery tissues were analyzed to identify lipid-core plaques based on specific pathological criteria.
- Results showed that the percentage of CT pixel attenuation ≤ 30 HU was significantly higher in lipid-core plaques compared to fibrous plaques, suggesting that this CT measurement could effectively diagnose lipid plaques with high sensitivity and specificity.
Importance: Epidemiologic evidence of the mechanisms of the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and coronary heart disease (CHD) is limited and relies heavily on studies performed in Europe and the United States, where air pollution levels are relatively low. In particular, the association between air pollution and CHD in patients with underlying risks for CHD is understudied.
Objective: To determine whether air pollution and proximity to traffic are associated with the coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, a key atherosclerotic marker.
Rationale And Objectives: We sought to compare the prevalence and volume of lipid plaque, fibrous plaque, and calcified plaque in patients with smokers versus nonsmokers.
Materials And Methods: We studied consecutive patients suspected of coronary artery disease and who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography. A structured interview and review of existing clinical data was conducted before computed tomography angiography to collect information on demographic characteristics, the presence of cardiovascular risk factors.
Objective: To investigate the effect of a novel motion-correction algorithm (Snap-short Freeze, SSF) on image quality and diagnostic accuracy in patients undergoing prospectively ECG-triggered CCTA without administering rate-lowering medications.
Materials And Methods: Forty-six consecutive patients suspected of CAD prospectively underwent CCTA using prospective ECG-triggering without rate control and invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Image quality, interpretability, and diagnostic performance of SSF were compared with conventional multisegment reconstruction without SSF, using ICA as the reference standard.
To study the relationship between percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) success and various morphological index evaluated by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in patients with coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO). 272 Consecutive patients with 281 CTO lesions diagnosed by CCTA and invasive coronary angiography were prospectively enrolled. The luminal attenuation of proximal segment of CTO lesions was measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To determine whether changes in coronary opacification normalized to the aorta (corrected coronary opacification [CCO]) across stents can help identify in-stent restenosis (ISR) severity with use of invasive coronary angiography as the standard of reference.
Materials And Methods: This study was approved by the institutional review board, and the requirement to obtain informed consent was waived. The authors retrospectively analyzed 106 patients (88 men, 18 women; mean age, 59.
[Clinical application of computed tomography fractional flow reserve in 2 cases].
Zhonghua Xin Xue Guan Bing Za Zhi
December 2013
[Coronary atherosclerosis lesion features in coronary artery disease patients complicating with metabolic syndrome].
Zhonghua Xin Xue Guan Bing Za Zhi
November 2013
Purpose: To compare coronary plaque burden, composition, distribution and the degree of coronary artery stenosis in invasive coronary angiography (ICA) diagnosed coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with or without metabolic syndrome (MetS).
Methods: From January 2008 to June 2011, consecutive patients underwent both coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and ICA within three months were enrolled. Patients with history of previous percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were excluded.
Article Synopsis
- Researchers studied how metabolic syndrome (MetS) affects coronary artery calcification (CAC) in people from Beijing.
- They found that older people and those with MetS had more CAC.
- Having more MetS traits, like high blood pressure and being overweight, increased the risk of having CAC.
Article Synopsis
- Some heart problems called congenital heart diseases (CHDs) can come with unusual blood vessel issues known as coronary artery anomalies (CAAs).
- The study looked at 417 patients with complex CHDs using a special type of CT scan to find out how common these CAAs are.
- Results showed that about 15% of the patients had CAAs, and it's important for doctors to look for these issues before doing surgery.
Objectives: This study sought to determine whether a 50%-reduced radiation dose protocol using iterative reconstruction (IR) preserves image quality and diagnostic accuracy at coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) as compared with a routine dose protocol using traditional filtered back projection (FBP).
Background: IR techniques show promise to decrease radiation requirements at coronary CTA. No study has performed a direct head-to-head, intraindividual comparison of IR algorithms with FBP vis-à-vis diagnostic accuracy and radiation dose at coronary CTA.
[Relation between uric acid and coronary artery calcification:a community-based cross-sectional survey among Beijing natural population].
Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi
June 2013
Objective: To investigate the influence of uric acid on coronary artery calcification in the natural population in Beijing.
Methods: From April to July 2012, 903 subjects from the natural population(aged 37-76 years for men, aged 42-76 years for women)in Xishan community, Beijing, were selected to accept a survey on the risk factors of cardiovascular. Blood tests and CT coronary artery calcium scans were carried out.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of low-radiation coronary CT angiography (cCTA) using advanced imaging techniques.
- Forty patients underwent this cCTA, resulting in high-quality images with a strong ability to detect significant arterial blockages compared to traditional methods.
- The findings indicate that this method provides high diagnostic accuracy for coronary artery stenosis while keeping radiation exposure under 1 mSv, making it safer for patients.
Prognostic value of coronary CT angiography and calcium score for major adverse cardiac events in outpatients.
JACC Cardiovasc Imaging
October 2012
Article Synopsis
- This study looked at two tests, coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), to see how well they can predict serious heart problems.
- They followed over 5,000 patients suspected of having heart disease and tracked their health outcomes for about three years.
- The results showed that both tests gave important information, but the coronary CTA test was better at predicting which patients might face major heart issues compared to just using the CACS test.