Advances in Cardiovascular Imaging—Computed Tomography (CT) Focus Issue

A special issue of Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease (ISSN 2308-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Imaging".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2025 | Viewed by 2264

Special Issue Editor


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Department of Radiology, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Interests: coronary CTA; coronary artery disease; computed tomography angiography
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular diseases are a major global health concern, with imaging technologies playing a crucial role in their diagnosis and treatment. This Special Issue welcomes original articles addressing novel research in the field of cardiovascular imaging—with a focus on computed tomography (CT), advancing diagnosis, or addressing advances in technology (e.g., photon counting CT). MRI, 18FDG-PET or multimodality imaging studies may also be considered.

This Special Issue aims to cover a wide range of topics:

  • Coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, plaque imaging, CV risk prediction by novel imaging biomarkers (e.g., pericardial fat, high-risk plaque), artificial intelligence, cardiovascular inflammation;
  • Structural heart disease with a focus on advances in planning novel minimal invasive cardiovascular interventions (aortic, mitral, tricuspidal, and other devices);
  • Valvular heart disease, prosthetic valves and other cardiac devices;
  • Congenital heart disease, myocardial disease, and infarction.

Further, except for original research, we also encourage the submission of state-of-the-art reviews, case reports and short communications related to the topics listed above.

Prof. Dr. Gudrun Feuchtner
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cardiovascular imaging
  • structural heart disease
  • valvular heart disease
  • congenital heart disease
  • computed tomography (CT)
  • photon counting CT

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1708 KiB  
Article
Beyond the Obesity Paradox: Analysis of New Prognostic Factors in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Procedure
by Francesca Ricci, Leonardo Benelli, Monia Pasqualetto, Mario Laudazi, Luca Pugliese, Maria Volpe, Cecilia Cerimele, Carlo Di Donna, Francesco Garaci and Marcello Chiocchi
J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2024, 11(11), 368; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd11110368 - 15 Nov 2024
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Abstract
Scope: The main purpose of our study was to collect computed tomography (CT) measurements of fat parameters that are significantly related to body mass index (BMI) and evaluate the associations of these measurements and sarcopenia with early and long-term complications after transcatheter aortic [...] Read more.
Scope: The main purpose of our study was to collect computed tomography (CT) measurements of fat parameters that are significantly related to body mass index (BMI) and evaluate the associations of these measurements and sarcopenia with early and long-term complications after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in order to investigate the existence of the so-called ‘obesity paradox’ and the role of sarcopenia in this phenomenon. Materials and Methods: We analyzed the significance of fat CT measurements in 85 patients undergoing the TAVI procedure and compared these with each other, as well as with quantified CT BMI and fat density measurements. Secondly, we evaluated the associations of BMI, CT measurements of fat, and CT evaluations of skeletal muscle mass with early and long-term complications after 24 months of post-TAVI follow-up. Results: We found positive and significant relationships between fat CT measurements with each other and with BMI and a negative and significant relation between fat density and fat quantity. By comparing the CT measurements of fat and skeletal muscle mass with early and long-term complications after TAVI, we confirmed the existence of the ‘obesity paradox’ and the poor effect of sarcopenia after the TAVI procedure. Conclusions: We confirm that overweight and obesity are good prognostic factors, and sarcopenia is a poor prognostic factor for outcomes following the TAVI procedure. We focused on the scientific validation of an easy and fast way to measure fat and skeletal muscle mass using CT to better predict the outcomes of patients undergoing TAVI. Full article
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12 pages, 2960 KiB  
Article
Indirect-Oscillation Sign Suggesting Infective Endocarditis on the Routine Chest CT
by Min Ji Son, Seung Min Yoo, Hwa Yeon Lee and Charles S. White
J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2024, 11(10), 335; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd11100335 - 21 Oct 2024
Viewed by 535
Abstract
Routine chest CT is not essential for the diagnostic workup for infective endocarditis (IE), but this type of study may be the initial imaging modality in the evaluation of patients ultimately proven to have IE who present to the emergency department with nonspecific [...] Read more.
Routine chest CT is not essential for the diagnostic workup for infective endocarditis (IE), but this type of study may be the initial imaging modality in the evaluation of patients ultimately proven to have IE who present to the emergency department with nonspecific clinical symptoms. Although routine chest CT cannot directly assess valvular oscillating motion due to the lack of cine images, we hypothesized that a combination of elongated nodular valve thickening and abnormal orientation to the normal valve with a blind end on routine CT (indirect-oscillation sign) might suggest movable vegetation indirectly. To evaluate this possibility, we studied 27 patients with IE and 35 controls who underwent both routine chest CT and echocardiography. CT scanning was initiated following a delay of 60–80 s after the administration of the contrast medium. Two cardiothoracic radiologists retrospectively analyzed the CT images to assess the indirect-oscillation sign with consensus. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the indirect-oscillation sign on routine chest CT were 29.6% (8/27), 100% (35/35), 100% (8/8), and 64.8% (35/54), respectively. Although uncommon, the presence of the indirect-oscillation sign involving the aortic or mitral valve on routine chest CT is a suggestive finding for IE. Full article
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15 pages, 2794 KiB  
Article
Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) Findings in COVID-19
by Pietro G. Lacaita, Anna Luger, Fabian Plank, Fabian Barbieri, Christoph Beyer, Theresa Thurner, Yannick Scharll, Johannes Deeg, Gerlig Widmann and Gudrun M. Feuchtner
J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2024, 11(10), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd11100325 - 14 Oct 2024
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Abstract
(1) Background: The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus infects the endothelium. Vasculitis may lead to specific coronary artery wall lesions. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) imaging findings have not been systematically reported. The aim of this study was to describe a case series using CTA. [...] Read more.
(1) Background: The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus infects the endothelium. Vasculitis may lead to specific coronary artery wall lesions. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) imaging findings have not been systematically reported. The aim of this study was to describe a case series using CTA. (2) Methods: Patients with recent RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection referred for coronary CTA for clinical indications (e.g., chest pain, troponin+, and ECG abnormalities) were included. Coronary CTA findings, such as atypical coronary lesions suggestive of vasculitis, perivascular inflammation measured by using pericoronary fat attenuation (PCAT) index, coronary artery disease, and extracoronary findings were collected. (3) Results: Results for 12 patients (54.8 ± 22 years; four females) with SARS-CoV-2 infection within 60 days (four acute care and eight stable patients) are reported. Time to positive RT-PCR was a mean of 15.1 days (range, 0–51). In four acute patients with signs of myocardial injury, plaque rupture (n = 1), hyperenhancing myocardium/MINOCA (n = 1), MINOCA (n = 1), and pericarditis with acute heart failure (LVEF 20%) (n = 1) were found. All (100%) had pericardial effusion and signs of perivascular inflammation. Among eight stable patients, pericardial effusion or perivascular inflammation were found in only two (25%). Coronary artery disease was ruled out in five (62.5%) (4) Conclusions: Coronary CTA is a useful imaging modality in the diagnostic work up of patients with COVID-19 infection, and is able to describe coronary and other cardiac abnormalities. Full article
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