Cardiac MRI

The differing interests of clinical and basic science researchers are apparent in the work of the finalists for Young Investigator Awards at this year’s ISMRM/ESMRMB meeting.

The differing interests of clinical and basic science researchers are apparent in the work of the finalists for Young Investigator Awards at this year’s ISMRM/ESMRMB meeting.

A review of the current literature reveals a difference of opinion regarding whether to screen diabetic patients with CT and an inherent flaw with hybrid SPECT/CT scanners resulting in misregistered images. Researchers also optimized a contrast protocol for the triple rule-out procedure and advise echo studies when mitral valve calcification is found on chest CT.

The advent of 64-slice and dual-source CT has undoubtedly been welcomed by cardiovascular imaging experts. The systems' rapid rotation speeds and high-volume coverage have made it far easier to attain quality images of the beating heart and coronary arteries.

Not all those who suffer heart attacks have typical symptoms. Many people, including the elderly, those with renal disease, and women, are at risk of having a silent myocardial infarction.

Attempting to separate fact from fiction, medical physicist Cynthia H. McCollough, Ph.D., gave context to a notorious newspaper report about the dangers of CT with news of innovative equipment performance features that help radiologists keep patient dose under control.

Recently published studies reflect the versatility of cardiac MR, multislice CT, rubidium-82 PET/CT, and stress echocardiography for shedding diagnostic light on various aspects of coronary artery disease and other cardiac conditions.

A SPECT imaging protocol that detects programmed cell death with technetium-99m annexin A5 may give clinicians an early warning of worsening heart failure.

Concerns about the danger of thrombosis resulting from the use of drug-eluting stents, combined with confidence in the safety of bare metal stents, have driven down the use of drug-eluting stents substantially over the past year, according to Volcano Corporation. That’s bad news for the makers of drug-eluting stents but good news for the makers of intravascular ultrasound systems. The top executive at Volcano reports a surge in the sale of the systems.

Evidence long suggested that mortality rates from heart disease tend to be lower in countries where siestas are common. However, studies did not control for other risk factors such as diet, physical activity, and age.

Heart failure is a common disorder with high morbidity and mortality. It is the only major cardiovascular disease whose prevalence and incidence are not only on the increase but predicted to reach epidemic proportions.

Not all those who suffer heart attacks have typical symptoms. Many people, including the elderly, those with renal disease, and women, are at risk of having a silent myocardial infarction. People with diabetes, in particular, are among those at highest risk of experiencing a silent MI.

March was a month of notable progress for cardiac MR, with studies demonstrating the impressive prognostic power of adenosine stress perfusion and dobutamine stress wall motion imaging. The combination was nearly perfect in identifying patients who would be safe from cardiac death or myocardial infarction for at least three years. Recent cardiac imaging studies also affirm fusion imaging’s value for diagnosing coronary artery disease.

The combined functional and morphological approach to imaging afforded by PET/CT and SPECT/CT has far-reaching technical, diagnostic, and economic advantages, according to Dr. Gerald Antoch of the department of diagnostic and interventional radiology and neuroradiology at the University Hospital Essen in Germany. He moderated Monday’s state-of-the art symposium on the use of PET/CT and SPECT/CT for cardiac and oncologic purposes.

Youth will rise to the fore at today's European Congress of Radiology. At just 51 years of age, Prof. Christian Herold is one of the youngest ECR presidents and the first from Austria. He admits that he represents the new generation of leaders.

Unhealthy habits have increased the likelihood of catastrophic cardiovascular disease at a surprisingly early age for asymptomatic adults who referred themselves for multislice CT coronary artery calcium testing at the Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock.

A unique study documenting the prevalence of congenital heart disease in both adults and children in the same Quebecois population found a striking increase in the number of adults with CHD.

Acute coronary syndromes, especially acute myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death, are most often caused by the rupture or erosion of coronary atherosclerotic plaques. The plaque itself does not have to be associated with lumen narrowing.

Researchers may agree that cardiac MR is the modality of choice for predicting left ventricular remodeling, but they remain split on which contrast-enhanced CMR technique produces the most accurate prediction.

The shock of a surprise party or the loss of a loved one may not be the trigger of chest pain that sends grandma off to the hospital for emergency cardiac catheterization.

We continue to be both amazed and intrigued by the hype showered on cardiac CT angiography and the corresponding lack of hype given to peripheral vascular CTA. No doubt, 64-slice cardiac or coronary CTA is potentially a revolutionizing technology, but PV-CTA has already revolutionized the comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of peripheral vascular disease.

Nonacademic private practice groups performing cardiovascular imaging studies have flourished during the past 30 years. As more practitioners entered private practice to meet growing demand and more hospitals developed advanced heart programs, cardiovascular services became increasingly accessible across the U.S.

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions has released a document recommending the adoption of stringent quality standards by those who perform percutaneous coronary intervention in hospitals not equipped for cardiac surgery.

The International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy in South Florida from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1 could easily be overshadowed by Super Bowl hype were it not for Dr. Archie Roberts.

Researchers may agree that cardiac MR is the modality of choice for predicting left ventricular remodeling, but they remain split on which contrast-enhanced CMR technique produces the most accurate prediction.

A small outcomes study presented at the RSNA meeting has shown that multislice cardiac CT can be applied in specific ways to eliminate unnecessary cardiac catheterizations for coronary artery disease.

Radiologists must embrace cardiac imaging, especially coronary CT angiography, but many are hesitant to do so, according to Dr. Kerry M. Link, a professor of radiology, cardiology, regenerative medicine, and biomedical engineering at Wake Forest University Health Science Center in Winston-Salem, NC.

As a practicing radiologist for 28 years, I was happy to see the Point/Counterpoint repartee between Dr. Carter Newton and Dr. David Dowe in Diagnostic Imaging (September 2006, pages 24 and 25) regarding cardiac CT angiography. It's time the radiology community and the medical community at large understand the difference between real imaging professionals and doctors who believe that cardiac imaging is some type of divine entitlement.

GE Healthcare's latest invention, SnapShot Cine, is a multislice CT software enhancement that borrows its method from the days of axial scanning. The big difference is that it cuts the x-ray dose for cardiac scans by 70% or more compared with conventional CT.

I have been performing CT angiography of the coronary arteries since 1993, mainly at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Collaboration with radiologists has been good from the start. I know of several other hospitals in Germany where cardiac CTA works similarly well, but I also know of many where it does not. Why the difference?