Nuclear imaging techniques for cardiac amyloidosis.

Purpose Of Review: Cardiac amyloidosis is a condition marked by the misfolding of precursor proteins into insoluble amyloid fibrils, leading to restrictive cardiomyopathy and heart failure symptoms. This review discusses advancements in nuclear imaging techniques that enhance the diagnosis and guide the management of cardiac amyloidosis, addressing the critical need for early and accurate detection in clinical practice.

Recent Findings: Recent studies and guidelines emphasizes the pivotal role of nuclear imaging techniques in diagnosing cardiac amyloidosis.

Cardiac magnetic resonance findings in cardiac amyloidosis.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review is to highlight the increasing importance of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in diagnosing and managing cardiac amyloidosis, especially given the recent advancements in treatment options.

Recent Findings: This review emphasizes the crucial role of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) with phase-sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR) techniques in both diagnosing and predicting patient outcomes in cardiac amyloidosis. The review also explores promising new techniques for diagnosing early-stage disease, such as native T1 mapping and ECV quantification.

Simultaneous Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia and Hemodynamic Improvement of Mid-ventricular Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy by Coronary Venous Ethanol Ablation.

Transvenous coronary ethanol ablation may be successfully applied to simultaneously treat ventricular arrhythmia superimposed within a segment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This presentation nicely describes this emerging technique for ventricular tachycardia ablation and identifies potential additional benefits of venous ethanol administration in patients with left ventricular obstructive physiology.

AI-enabled Cardiac Chambers Volumetry and Calcified Plaque Characterization in Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Scans (AI-CAC) Significantly Improves on Agatston CAC Score for Predicting All Cardiovascular Events: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scans contain valuable information beyond the Agatston Score which is currently reported for predicting coronary heart disease (CHD) only. We examined whether new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms applied to CAC scans may provide significant improvement in prediction of all cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in addition to CHD, including heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, resuscitated cardiac arrest, and all CVD-related deaths.

Methods: We applied AI-enabled automated cardiac chambers volumetry and automated calcified plaque characterization to CAC scans (AI-CAC) of 5830 individuals (52.

Fundamental Technical Skills of Endovascular Surgery: A Preliminary Study on Its Impact on Skills and Stress during Procedures.

Background: Our objective is twofold: determining if simulation allows residents to reach proficient surgeons' performance concerning fundamental technical skills of endovascular surgery (FEVS) while investigating effects of the program on surgeons' stress.

Methods: Using a FEVS training simulator, 8 endovascular FEVS were performed by vascular surgery residents (simulator-naive or simulator-experienced residents [SER]) and seniors. Total time needed to complete the 8 tasks, called total completion time (TCT), was the main evaluation criterion.

Sex-Based Differences in Patients With Left Ventricular-Assisted Devices and Strokes.

Background: Sex-based differences in clinical outcomes among patients with stroke related to left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are not well described.

Objectives: In this study, the authors examined differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes in men and women who had a stroke during LVAD hospitalization.

Methods: The National Inpatient Sample from 2010 and 2019 was used to identify patients with stroke during LVAD hospitalization.

Air Pollution and Adverse Cardiovascular Events After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A 10-Year Nationwide Study.

Background: Increased particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM) air pollution is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, its impact on patients with prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is unknown.

Nontraditional Risk Markers for Incident Coronary Artery Calcium Among Persons ≥65 Years of Age.

Background: The initiation of coronary artery calcium (CAC) is an important physiologic milestone associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. However, traditional risk factors (RF) do not perform well for predicting incident CAC among the 54 million older U.S.

Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Outcomes and Cholesterol-Lowering Efficacy of PCSK9 Inhibitors: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Guideline-recommended low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) thresholds are often not achieved in women. The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type-9 inhibitor (PCSK9i) monoclonal antibodies can help further reduce LDL-C and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) although differences in efficacy by sex and type are less understood.

Objectives: The authors sought to determine if there are differences in the efficacy of LDL-C lowering and reduction in the risk of MACE by sex and type of PCSK9i.

Intraindividual Comparison of Dose Reduction and Coronary Calcium Scoring Accuracy Using Kilovolt-independent and Tin Filtration CT Protocols.

Purpose To investigate the ability of kilovolt-independent (hereafter, kV-independent) and tin filter spectral shaping to accurately quantify the coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and radiation dose reductions compared with the standard 120-kV CT protocol. Materials and Methods This prospective, blinded reader study included 201 participants (mean age, 60 years ± 9.8 [SD]; 119 female, 82 male) who underwent standard 120-kV CT and additional kV-independent and tin filter research CT scans from October 2020 to July 2021.

Perme ICU Physical Therapy Competency: Development of an ICU Knowledge and Skills Assessment Tool.

Background: Physical therapy for patients in the ICU is advanced practice demanding specialized knowledge and skills. However, ICU physical therapy competency standards lack uniformity or defined processes.

Objectives: To describe the development process of the Perme ICU Physical Therapy Competency and to assess its face and content validity.

Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Based T1 Mapping and Extracellular Volume Fractions Are Associated with Peripheral Artery Disease.

Background: Extracellular volume fraction (ECV), measured with contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI), has been utilized to study myocardial fibrosis, but its role in peripheral artery disease (PAD) remains unknown. We hypothesized that T1 mapping and ECV differ between PAD patients and matched controls.

Methods And Results: A total of 37 individuals (18 PAD patients and 19 matched controls) underwent 3.

Survey results of COVID-19 pandemic on female surgical trainees: New normal work environment.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on surgical training globally. We aimed to explore and identify the specific challenges faced by women surgeons during the pandemic and provide recommendations for improvement.

Methods: A survey was conducted among trainee members of the Association of Women Surgeons, assessing various aspects of clinical training, mental well-being, and personal and professional life.

The Association of Mitral Annular Calcification With Cardiovascular and Noncardiovascular Outcomes: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Mitral annular calcification (MAC) may be a potential marker of biologic aging. However, the association of MAC with noncardiovascular measures, including bone mineral density (BMD), incident renal failure, dementia, and noncardiovascular mortality, is not well-studied in a multiracial cohort. We used data from 6,814 participants (mean age: 62.

The Emerging Specialty of Cardio-Rheumatology.

Purpose Of Review: In this review, we aimed to summarize the different aspects of the field of cardio-rheumatology, the role of the cardio-rheumatologist, and future research in the field.

Recent Findings: Cardio-rheumatology is an emerging subspecialty within cardiology that focuses on addressing the intricate relationship between systemic inflammation and cardiovascular diseases. It involves understanding the cardiovascular impact of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases on the heart and vascular system.

Patent Foramen Ovale and Atrial Septal Defect.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal defects (ASDs) are two types of interatrial communications with unique clinical presentations and management strategies. The PFO is a normal part of fetal development that typically closes shortly after birth but may persist in as many as 25% to 30% of adults. The communication between atria may result in paradoxic embolism and embolic stroke.

Multi-Modality Deep Infarct: Non-invasive identification of infarcted myocardium using composite in-silico-human data learning.

Myocardial infarction (MI) continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. The precise quantification of infarcted tissue is crucial to diagnosis, therapeutic management, and post-MI care. Late gadolinium enhancement-cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) is regarded as the gold standard for precise infarct tissue localization in MI patients.

Complete spatiotemporal quantification of cardiac motion in mice through enhanced acquisition and super-resolution reconstruction.

The quantification of cardiac motion using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has shown promise as an early-stage marker for cardiovascular diseases. Despite the growing popularity of CMR-based myocardial strain calculations, measures of complete spatiotemporal strains (i.e.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Histological Insights Into Deep Venous Arterialisation.

Introduction: Percutaneous deep venous arterialisation (DVA) is emerging as a promising alternative for limb salvage in chronic limb threatening ischaemia (CLTI) patients without any reasonable anatomical option for conventional revascularisation techniques. However, its mechanism of action remains incompletely understood. This report aimed to find some of the histological alterations occurring in the limb following DVA.

Multi-Modality Deep Infarct: Non-invasive identification of infarcted myocardium using composite in-silico-human data learning.

Myocardial infarction (MI) continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. The precise quantification of infarcted tissue is crucial to diagnosis, therapeutic management, and post-MI care. Late gadolinium enhancement-cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) is regarded as the gold standard for precise infarct tissue localization in MI patients.