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Editorial Board Members' Collection Series in “Imaging in Heart Diseases”

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A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 7942

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Prof. Dr. Theodoros D. Karamitsos

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Guest Editor

First Department of Cardiology, AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: cardiovascular magnetic resonance; heart failure; cardiovascular imaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Vasileios Kamperidis

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Guest Editor

1st Department of Cardiology, AHEPA University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: echocardiography; speckle tracking; myocardial function; stress echo; 3D echo; valvular heart disease; heart failure; thalassaemia; cardio-oncology; diabetes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heart disease is a general term that includes many types of heart problems. It is also known as cardiovascular disease (CVD), meaning heart and blood vessel disease. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, abnormal heart rhythms, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, carditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, thromboembolic disease, and venous thrombosis.

Chest pains, heart flutters and heart attack are the signposts of heart troubles. In the past, these symptoms might require treadmill stress tests or cardiac catheterization to diagnose the problem. This has changed with the advent of new imaging technology, including X-rays, ultrasound (echocardiograms), CT scans, MRI, 3-dimensional echocardiography (3-D echo), and PET/CT. The goal of this Special Issue is to provide relevant new information concerning the diagnosis of all heart diseases that is useful for daily practice and based on the most recent available data.

This Special Issue will thus offer an up-to-date view of the advances made in the imaging of heart diseases and seeks to collate articles, providing a comprehensive presentation of the current image-related novelties.

Dr. Theodoros D. Karamitsos
Dr. Vasileios Kamperidis
Guest Editors

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

cardiovascular disease
X-rays
ultrasound
CT scans
MRI
3-dimensional echocardiography
PET/CT

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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11 pages, 3170 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Basilar Stenosis Reduces the Impact of Successful Recanalization on Outcome in Basilar Artery Occlusion

by Moritz R. Hernandez Petzsche, Philip Hoelter, Sebastian Rühling, Julian Schwarting, Benno Ikenberg, Silke Wunderlich, Christian Maegerlein, Claus Zimmer, Maria Berndt-Mück and Tobias Boeckh-Behrens

Diagnostics 2024, 14(21), 2348; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14212348 - 22 Oct 2024

Viewed by 565

Abstract

Background: Evidence from randomized controlled trials has shown a benefit for endovascular treatment in basilar artery occlusion. We aimed to show the effect of the recanalization result on outcome and determine the role of underlying basilar stenosis in a real-world setting. Methods: A retrospective, single-center study of patients who received endovascular treatment for basilar artery occlusion from March 2008 to June 2022 was conducted. Clinical and outcome characteristics were gathered. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to predict poor outcomes (post-treatment mRS 5 or 6). MRS shift analysis was performed. Results: This study includes 210 patients (mean age, 71.4 years +/− 13.3 [standard deviation]; 124 men). The variables age (OR, 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01–1.08; p = 0.014), underlying basilar stenosis (OR: 4.86; 95% CI: 2.15–10.98; p < 0.001), admission NHISS (OR: 1.09; 95% CI: 1.04–1.13; p < 0.001), and TICI (OR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.09–3.25; p = 0.022) independently predicted a poor outcome. Patients with occlusions due to underlying stenosis had significantly worse recanalization rates. Median post-treatment mRS in all patients with embolic occlusion was 4; IQR, 2–5 (only patients with embolic occlusion: mTICI 0-2a, median: 5 [IQR, 4–5.5]; mTICI 2b, median: 4 [IQR, 2.5–6]; mTICI 3, median: 3 [IQR, 1–5]; p = 0.037). Median post-treatment mRS in all patients with occlusions due to underlying stenosis was 5; IQR, 4–6 (only patients with embolic occlusions: mTICI 0-2a, median: 6 [IQR, 4.5–6]; mTICI 2b, median: 6 [IQR, 4.25–6]; mTICI 3, median: 5 [IQR, 3.5–5.25]; p = 0.059). Conclusions: Successful recanalization is essential for preventing poor outcomes in basilar artery occlusion. Underlying basilar stenosis diminishes the effect of successful recanalization on the overall outcome. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members' Collection Series in “Imaging in Heart Diseases”)

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11 pages, 1367 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Right Ventricular and Right Atrial Strain Are Associated with Kidney Dysfunction in Acute Heart Failure

by Vasileios Anastasiou, Emmanouela Peteinidou, Christos Tountas, Stylianos Daios, Dimitrios V. Moysidis, Emmanouil Fardoulis, Christos Gogos, Marieta Theodorakopoulou, Fotini Iatridi, Pantelis Sarafidis, George Giannakoulas, Theodoros Karamitsos, Victoria Delgado, Antonios Ziakas and Vasileios Kamperidis

Diagnostics 2024, 14(14), 1576; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14141576 - 21 Jul 2024

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Abstract

Background: In acute heart failure (HF), low cardiac output and venous congestion are pathophysiological mechanisms that contribute to renal function impairment. This study investigated the association between advanced echocardiographic measures of right ventricular and atrial function and renal impairment in patients with acute HF. Methods and Results: A total of 377 patients hospitalized for acute HF were prospectively evaluated. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) on admission was measured using the 2021 Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration creatinine equation. Advanced echocardiographic assessment was performed on admission. Patients with eGFR < 45 mL/min/1.73 m² were more likely to have chronic heart failure, chronic atrial fibrillation, and type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to patients with eGFR ≥ 45 mL/min/1.73 m². Patients with lower eGFR had lower cardiac output, higher mean E/e’ ratio, larger right ventricular (RV) size, worse RV free wall longitudinal strain, more impaired right atrial (RA) reservoir strain, and more frequent severe tricuspid regurgitation. RV free wall longitudinal strain and RA reservoir strain were the only independent echocardiographic associates of low eGFR, whereas cardiac output was not. Conclusions: Impaired RV and RA longitudinal strain were independently associated with eGFR < 45 mL/min/1.73 m² in acute HF, while reduced cardiac output was not. This suggests that RV and RA dysfunction underlying venous congestion and increased renal afterload are more important pathophysiological determinants of renal impairment in acute HF than reduced cardiac output. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members' Collection Series in “Imaging in Heart Diseases”)

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16 pages, 1837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diet and Lifestyle Intervention-Induced Pattern of Weight Loss Related to Reduction in Low-Attenuation Coronary Plaque Burden

by Jan Henzel, Mariusz Kruk, Cezary Kępka, Magdalena Makarewicz-Wujec, Łukasz Wardziak, Piotr Trochimiuk, Hubert Krysztofiak, Rafał Dąbrowski, Zofia Dzielińska, Pál Maurovich-Horvat and Marcin Demkow

Diagnostics 2024, 14(6), 615; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14060615 - 14 Mar 2024

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Background: Despite extensive research on body weight and cardiovascular risk, the mechanistic relationship between weight loss and coronary plaque modification has not been adequately addressed. This study aimed to determine the association between body composition dynamics and low-attenuation coronary plaque (LAP) burden. Methods: Eighty-nine participants (40% women, 60 ± 7.7 years) of the Dietary Intervention to Stop Coronary Atherosclerosis in Computed Tomography (DISCO-CT) study with non-obstructive atherosclerosis with nonobstructive atherosclerosis confirmed in computed tomography angiography (CCTA), a randomized (1:1), prospective, single-center study were included into the analysis. Patients were randomly assigned to either experimental arm (intensive diet and lifestyle intervention atop optimal medical therapy, n = 45) or control arm (optimal medical therapy alone, n = 44) over 66.8 ± 13.7 weeks. Changes (∆) in body mass (BM) and body composition parameters, including total body fat (TBF), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and fat-to-muscle ratio (FMR), measured with bioimpedance analyzer were compared with CCTA-measured ∆LAP. Coronary plaque analysis was performed using the 2 × 192 dual-energy scanner (Somatom Force, Siemens, Germany), while quantitative coronary plaque measurements were performed using a semi-automated plaque analysis software system (QAngioCT v3.1.3.13, Medis Medical Imaging Systems, Leiden, The Netherlands). Results: Significant intergroup differences were found for ∆BM (−3.6 ± 4.9 kg in the experimental vs. −1.4 ± 2.9 kg in the control group, p = 0.015), ∆TBF (−3.4 ± 4.8% in the experimental vs. 1.1 ± 5.5% in the control arm, p < 0.001), ∆SMM (1.9 ± 2.8% in the experimental vs. −0.7 ± 3.2% in the control arm, p < 0.001), and FMR [−12.9 (−21.2; −4.3)% in the experimental vs. 3.1 (−5.3; 10.7)% in the control arm, p < 0.001]. ∆LAP did not differ significantly between the study arms; however, in the whole study population, ∆LAP was positively correlated with ∆BM, ∆TBF, and ∆FMR (r = 0.45, p < 0.001; r = 0.300, p = 0.004; r = 0.233, p = 0.028, respectively), and negatively with ∆SMM (r = −0.285, p = 0.007). Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed the association of ∆LAP with ∆BM, ∆TBF, and ∆FMR. Conclusions: The study intervention resulted in BM reduction characterized by fat loss, skeletal muscle gain, and increased FMR. This weight loss pattern may lead to a reduction in high-risk coronary plaque. Compared to a simple weight control, tracking body composition changes over time can provide valuable information on adverse coronary plaque modification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members' Collection Series in “Imaging in Heart Diseases”)

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12 pages, 2837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improved [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT Diagnostic Accuracy for Infective Endocarditis Using Conventional Cardiac Gating or Combined Cardiac and Respiratory Motion Correction (CardioFreeze^TM)

by D. ten Hove, B. Sinha, J. H. van Snick, R. H. J. A. Slart and A. W. J. M. Glaudemans

Diagnostics 2023, 13(19), 3146; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13193146 - 7 Oct 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1639

Abstract

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a serious and diagnostically challenging condition. [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT is valuable for evaluating suspected IE, but it is susceptible to motion-related artefacts. This study investigated the potential benefits of cardiac motion correction for [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT. In this prospective study, patients underwent [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT for suspected IE, combined with a conventional cardiac gating sequence, a data-driven cardiac and respiratory gating sequence (CardioFreeze^TM), or both. Scans were performed in adherence to EANM guidelines and assessors were blinded to patients’ clinical contexts. Final diagnosis of IE was established based on multidisciplinary consensus after a minimum of 4 months follow-up and surgical findings, whenever performed. Seven patients participated in the study, undergoing both an ungated [¹⁸F] FDG-PET/CT and a scan with either conventional cardiac gating, CardioFreeze^TM, or both. Cardiac motion correction improved the interpretability of [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT in four out of five patients with valvular IE lesions, regardless of the method of motion correction used, which was statistically significant by Wilcoxon’s signed rank test: p = 0.046. In one patient the motion-corrected sequence confirmed the diagnosis of endocarditis, which had been missed on non-gated PET. The performance of the two gating sequences was comparable. In conclusion, in this exploratory study, cardiac motion correction of [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT improved the interpretability of [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT. This may improve the sensitivity of PET/CT for suspected IE. Further larger comparative studies are necessary to confirm the additive value of these cardiac motion correction methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members' Collection Series in “Imaging in Heart Diseases”)

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11 pages, 1740 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Free-Breathing and Single-Breath Hold Compressed Sensing Real-Time MRI of Right Ventricular Function in Children with Congenital Heart Disease

by Christoph Treutlein, Martin Georg Zeilinger, Sven Dittrich, Jan-Peter Roth, Matthias Wetzl, Rafael Heiss, Wolfgang Wuest, Matthias Stefan May, Michael Uder and Oliver Rompel

Diagnostics 2023, 13(14), 2403; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13142403 - 18 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1103

Abstract

(1) Purpose: to compare right ventricular (RV) functional parameters in children with surgically repaired congenital heart disease (CHD) using single/double breath hold (BH) and free-breathing (FB) real-time compressed sensing (CS) cine cardiac magnetic resonance (cMRI) with standard retrospective segmented multi breath hold (RMB) cine cMRI. (2) Methods: Twenty patients with CHD underwent BH and FB, as well as RMB cine cMRI, at 3T to obtain a stack of continuous axial images of the RV. Two radiologists independently performed qualitative analysis of the image quality (rated on a 5-point scale; 1 = non-diagnostic to 5 = excellent) and quantitative analysis of the RV volume measurements. (3) Results: The best image quality was provided by RMB (4.5; range 2–5) compared to BH (3.9; range 3–5; p = 0.04) and FB (3.6; range 3–5; p < 0.01). The RV functional parameters were comparable among BH, FB, and RMB with a difference of less than 5%. The scan times for BH (44 ± 38 s, p < 0.01) and FB (24 ± 7 s, p < 0.01) were significantly reduced compared to for RMB (261 ± 68 s). (4) Conclusions: CS-FB and CS-BH real-time cine cMRI in children with CHD provides diagnostic image quality with excellent accuracy for measuring RV function with a significantly reduced scan time compared to RMB. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members' Collection Series in “Imaging in Heart Diseases”)

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5 pages, 2222 KiB

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Aplastic Internal Carotid Artery: A Potentially Catastrophic Vascular Anomaly

by Benjamin L. Bosse, Geoffrey Wilkinson, Zoe N. Anderson, Jay Babu, Riyaa Rajesh, Rajesh Rangaswamy and Karthikram Raghuram

Diagnostics 2023, 13(19), 3089; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13193089 - 29 Sep 2023

Viewed by 1710

Abstract

Congenital absence of an internal carotid artery (ICA) is a rare vascular anomaly and occurs in less than 0.01% of the population. We report a case of aplastic internal carotid artery in a 34-year-old female. The patient presented to the emergency department with complaints of new-onset involuntary swaying-like movement of her right arm. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed multifocal tiny areas of acute infarcts in the bilateral frontal, parietal, and left occipital lobes in the watershed distribution. There was no visualization of the flow of the intracranial left internal carotid artery. Follow-up CTA of the head and neck showed a congenital absence of the left internal carotid artery with no evidence of arterial dissection, occlusion, or aneurysm. Obstruction of the internal carotid artery has significant consequences for patients. This effect is amplified if the disruption occurs in the sole anterior blood supply to the parenchyma of the brain, as in this case. In our patient care, imaging was vital to the detection and subsequent treatment with anticoagulation to avoid further cerebral complications, and the patient will now have a better understanding of the increased lifetime risk of further events. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members' Collection Series in “Imaging in Heart Diseases”)

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