Bone health, cardiovascular disease, and imaging outcomes in UK Biobank: a causal analysis.

This study examined the association of estimated heel bone mineral density (eBMD, derived from quantitative ultrasound) with: (1) prevalent and incident cardiovascular diseases (CVDs: ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF), non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM), arrhythmia), (2) mortality (all-cause, CVD, IHD), and (3) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) measures of left ventricular and atrial structure and function and aortic distensibility, in the UK Biobank. Clinical outcomes were ascertained using health record linkage over 12.3 yr of prospective follow-up.

Feasibility of a Capacity Building Organizational Intervention for Worker Safety and Well-being in the Transportation Industry: Pivoting to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic and Social and Political Unrest in Chile.

This study developed, implemented, and evaluated the feasibility of executing an organizational capacity building intervention to improve bus driver safety and well-being in a Chilean transportation company. Method: Through an implementation science lens and using a pre-experimental mixed methods study design, we assessed the feasibility of implementing a participatory organizational intervention designed to build organizational capacity. Result: We identified contextual factors that influenced the intervention mechanisms and intervention implementation and describe how the company adapted the approach for unexpected external factors during the COVID-19 pandemic and social and political unrest experienced in Chile.

Left Ventricular Trabeculations at Cardiac MRI: Reference Ranges and Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in UK Biobank.

Background The extent of left ventricular (LV) trabeculation and its relationship with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors is unclear. Purpose To apply automated segmentation to UK Biobank cardiac MRI scans to () assess the association between individual characteristics and CV risk factors and trabeculated LV mass (LVM) and () establish normal reference ranges in a selected group of healthy UK Biobank participants. Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional secondary analysis, prospectively collected data from the UK Biobank (2006 to 2010) were retrospectively analyzed.

Mapping of UK Biobank clinical codes: Challenges and possible solutions.

Objective: The UK Biobank provides a rich collection of longitudinal clinical data coming from different healthcare providers and sources in England, Wales, and Scotland. Although extremely valuable and available to a wide research community, the heterogeneous dataset contains inconsistent medical terminology that is either aligned to several ontologies within the same category or unprocessed. To make these data useful to a research community, data cleaning, curation, and standardization are needed.

Fully Automated Myocardial Strain Estimation from Cardiovascular MRI-tagged Images Using a Deep Learning Framework in the UK Biobank.

Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility and performance of a fully automated deep learning framework to estimate myocardial strain from short-axis cardiac MRI-tagged images.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 4508 cases from the U.K.

Two-Minute k-Space and Time-accelerated Aortic Four-dimensional Flow MRI: Dual-Center Study of Feasibility and Impact on Velocity and Wall Shear Stress Quantification.

Purpose: To investigate the two-center feasibility of highly k-space and time (k-t)-accelerated 2-minute aortic four-dimensional (4D) flow MRI and to evaluate its performance for the quantification of velocities and wall shear stress (WSS).

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study prospectively included 68 participants (center 1, 11 healthy volunteers [mean age ± standard deviation, 61 years ± 15] and 16 patients with aortic disease [mean age, 60 years ± 10]; center 2, 14 healthy volunteers [mean age, 38 years ± 13] and 27 patients with aortic or cardiac disease [mean age, 78 years ± 18]). Each participant underwent highly accelerated 4D flow MRI (k-t acceleration, acceleration factor of 5) of the thoracic aorta.

Hypertrabeculated Left Ventricular Myocardium in Relationship to Myocardial Function and Fibrosis: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Purpose To determine if excess greater left ventricle (LV) trabeculation is associated with decreased average regional myocardial function, diffuse fibrosis, or both. Materials and Methods This was a HIPAA-compliant institutional board approved multicenter study, and all participants provided written informed consent. Participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) underwent a comprehensive cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) examination.

Fractal Analysis of Myocardial Trabeculations in 2547 Study Participants: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Purpose: To quantitatively determine the population variation and relationship of left ventricular (LV) trabeculation to LV function, structure, and clinical variables.

Materials And Methods: This HIPAA-compliant multicenter study was approved by institutional review boards of participating centers. All participants provided written informed consent.

Splenic Switch-off: A Tool to Assess Stress Adequacy in Adenosine Perfusion Cardiac MR Imaging.

Purpose: To investigate the pharmacology and potential clinical utility of splenic switch-off to identify understress in adenosine perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Materials And Methods: Splenic switch-off was assessed in perfusion cardiac MR examinations from 100 patients (mean age, 62 years [age range, 18-87 years]) by using three stress agents (adenosine, dobutamine, and regadenoson) in three different institutions, with appropriate ethical permissions. In addition, 100 negative adenosine images from the Clinical Evaluation of MR Imaging in Coronary Heart Disease (CE-MARC) trial (35 false and 65 true negative; mean age, 59 years [age range, 40-73 years]) were assessed to ascertain the clinical utility of the sign to detect likely pharmacologic understress.

Cardiac ¹²³I-MIBG scintigraphy as an outcome-predicting tool for subthalamic nucleus stimulation in Parkinson's disease.

Background: ¹²³I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy is a useful tool for differentiating idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) from other parkinsonian syndromes, but its prognostic value in PD has not been established. The objective of this study was to clarify the correlation between cardiac MIBG uptake parameters and the outcome in PD patients subjected to the subthalamic nucleus stimulation.

Method: We enrolled 31 consecutive PD patients and calculated the heart-to-mediastinum ratio (H/M) and washout rate (WR) based on the activity measured at 15 min (early phase) and 3 h (delayed phase) after the intravenous injection of MIBG (111 MBq).

Reliability of measurements of patient health status: a comparison of physician, patient, and caregiver ratings.

The purpose of this preliminary study was to investigate the inter-rater reliability among physician, patient, and caregiver ratings on the Hoehn & Yahr (H & Y) and Schwab & England (S & E) rating instruments. We also examined differences in ratings between patients who attended clinic with and without caregivers (spouses and adult children). Patients and caregivers coming for an appointment at Colorado Neurological Institute were asked to independently complete the H & Y and S & E scales.