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Cardiac Metabolic Implications of Fat Depot Imaging
AbstractPurpose of ReviewVisceral adipose tissues differentiate from subcutaneous fat by its local and systemic effects. As visceral adipose tissue within the thorax, the epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) surrounds the heart and the coronary arteries.Recent FindingsSeveral studies described the association of EAT and cardiovascular risk factors as well as prevalence and incidence of coronary artery disease. General measures of obesity like body mass index can easily be assessed. In contrast, visceral adipose tissue requires imaging modalities like computed tomography or ultrasonography for assessment. While computed tomograp...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Personalized Cardiac Imaging with New PET Radiotracers
This article reviews recent developments in the application of positron emission tomography (PET) for personalized cardiac imaging.Recent FindingsPET imaging has improved our understanding of various cardiovascular pathologies by probing the molecular pathways associated with specific cardiovascular diseases. The use of PET can improve disease detection and influence management strategies.SummaryPET has improved our understanding of the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis by imaging several key features including calcification, inflammation, apoptosis, and hypoxia. Molecular imaging of myocardial inflammation and cardiac sy...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Intravascular Imaging for Peripheral Vascular Disease and Endovascular Intervention
AbstractPurpose of ReviewIntravascular imaging has been increasingly incorporated into endovascular practice. The goal of this review is to explore the contemporary technologies used to perform intravascular imaging as well as the evidence supporting their use in the diagnostic assessment and treatment of peripheral vascular disease.Recent FindingsAlthough intravascular imaging has been more extensively studied in the coronary vasculature, there is a growing body of literature studying its use in other vascular territories. There are unique advantages and disadvantages for the two most commonly employed imaging modalities ...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - February 11, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Intravascular Imaging for Assessment of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy Following Heart Transplantation
AbstractPurpose of ReviewCardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the post-cardiac transplant patient population. Current guidelines recommend annual angiographic surveillance for CAV; however, angiography alone has several limitations and can lead to systematic underestimation of disease burden and the inability to sensitively track disease progression. We provide an overview of intravascular imaging in the initial and longitudinal evaluation of CAV, with a focus on the use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS).Recent FindingsMultiple studies have demonstrated that progression...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - January 29, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Intravascular Molecular Imaging to Detect High-Risk Vulnerable Plaques: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives
AbstractPurpose of ReviewTo describe vulnerable plaque pathobiology and summarize potential targets for molecular imaging with a focus on intravascular near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) and its translatable applications.Recent FindingsStructural imaging alone is unable to precisely identify high-risk plaques in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Intravascular near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging is an emerging translational approach that can image specific in vivo molecular processes and cells that characterize vulnerable plaques. High-priority NIRF targets imaged by intravascular NIRF imaging thus far inclu...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - January 29, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Current Challenges and Recent Updates in Artificial Intelligence and Echocardiography
AbstractPurpose of the ReviewThis review discusses the recent advances in automated echocardiography using artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) techniques. Specific emphasis is placed on the potential for machine learning-based methods to improve accuracy and reproducibility of echocardiographic assessment as well as early cardiovascular disease detection and personalized risk assessment.Recent FindingsEchocardiography remains the first line imaging modality for evaluation of many cardiovascular diseases. The last few years have witnessed a rapid expansion and growth of ML-based automated analysis and interpre...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - January 20, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Stress Echocardiography in the Era of Fractional Flow Reserve
AbstractPurpose of ReviewIt is the aim of this review to demonstrate the relevance of stress echocardiography in the era of fractional flow reserve by establishing the current use of stress echocardiography and fractional flow reserve, underlining their physiological basis and through this demonstrating the clear differences in their application.Recent FindingsThe importance of the microcirculation is only now being understood, no more so than in the fact that abnormalities in the microcirculation, determined by abnormal coronary flow reserve, predict adverse mortality regardless of the normality of the epicardial coronary...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - January 20, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

The Current and Future Role of Echocardiography for the Detection of Cardiotoxicity Related to Cancer Therapy
AbstractPurpose of the ReviewThe purpose of this review is to outline the role of echocardiography in identifying patients at increased cardiovascular risk for cancer treatment-associated cardiotoxicity.Recent FindingsWith a wide array of cancer therapeutics, a variety echocardiographic cardiotoxicity phenotypes have been identified. Recent consensus statements from several professional societies have provided a framework for risk assessment prior to cancer therapy that involves assessment and optimization of cardiac risk factors but also involves echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular (LV) function at baseline, ...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - January 15, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Clinical and Advanced MRI Techniques for Detection of Checkpoint Inhibitor Associated Myocarditis
AbstractPurpose of ReviewWith the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), cancer treatment has been revolutionized; however, these agents are associated with immune-related adverse events, including myocarditis, which ranges from mild to fulminant in severity. Currently, there are no established guidelines in diagnosing ICI-associated myocarditis, and the gold standard test for diagnosis of myocarditis in general is invasive endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is a noninvasive test with the advantage of providing structural, functional and tissue characterization information. Additi...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - January 13, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry in Early Detection of Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity
AbstractPurpose of the ReviewTo provide an overview of the published data on the value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) based T1 and T2 and extracellular volume (ECV) fraction quantification to identify myocardial abnormalities related to anthracycline treatment in patients with cancer.Recent FindingsIn animal models of anthracycline cardiotoxicity, elevations in myocardial T1 and T2 values appear to occur early during treatment followed by ventricular remodeling, persistent elevation in T1, and increase in ECV. These findings suggest early myocardial inflammation/edema followed by myocardial fibrosis and ventric...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - January 12, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Differentiation of Cardiac Masses by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging
AbstractPurpose of the ReviewThe purpose of this study is to review the utility of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in diagnosing and differentiating among different cardiac masses.Recent FindingsRecent advances in tissue characterization have made CMR the noninvasive modality of choice in differentiating cardiac masses. Greater spatial resolution, sophisticated tissue characterization, and multiple imaging planes to assess intra-cavitary masses enable CMR to perform a “virtual biopsy” of the mass.SummaryCardiac tumors are rare but reporting of cardiac masses on noninvasive testing as computed tomography (CT) o...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - January 9, 2020 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Novel Echocardiographic Biomarkers in the Management of Atrial Fibrillation
AbstractPurpose of ReviewAtrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in adults. The number of patients with AF is anticipated to increase annually, mainly due to the aging population alongside improved arrhythmia detection. AF is associated with a significantly elevated risk of hospitalization, stroke, thromboembolism, heart failure, and all-cause mortality. Echocardiography is one of the key components of routine assessment and management of AF. Therefore, the aim of this review is to briefly summarize current knowledge on “novel” echocardiographic parameters that may be of value in the management of AF pat...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - November 19, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

The Role of Echocardiography in Cardio-oncology Patients: Contemporary Indications and Future Directions
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review discusses the latest advances, guideline recommendations, and limitations of the use of echocardiography in evaluation of cancer therapeutics –related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) and highlights advances in cardio-oncology that have the potential to augment the echocardiographic assessment of CTRCD.Recent FindingsCardio-oncology is a rapidly evolving field aimed at improving the quality of life of cancer patients by preventing and treating the adverse cardiovascular complications of cancer therapy. Cardiac imaging tools, in particular transthoracic echocardiography, play a pivotal role...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - November 19, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

FDG-PET Imaging of Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity: a New Window on an Old Problem
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe present review focus on the published literature about the use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT imaging in the early recognition of anthracyclines-related cardiotoxicity.Recent FindingsThe application of PET/CT may represent an early predictor of subsequent cardiotoxicity in cancer patients treated with doxorubicin (DXR). However, the application of PET/CT may also extend beyond mere cardiotoxicity identification and monitoring to provide mechanistic delineation of the cardiotoxic pathophysiology. Indeed, this tool further enriched the current knowledge on energy metabolism impairment in ...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - November 15, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: research

Low Gradient Aortic Stenosis: Role of Echocardiography
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe purpose of this paper is to review the current role of echocardiography in the evaluation of patients with low gradient severe aortic stenosis (LG severe AS).Recent FindingsDiscordant grading of AS severity, in which a small aortic valve area coexists with a small gradient, can result in diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. Transthoracic, transesophageal, and stress echocardiography play pivotal roles in reconciling the discordance and clarifying AS severity. Three physiologic categories of LG severe AS can be identified (classical low flow (LF) LG AS, paradoxical LF-LG AS, and normal flow LG A...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - October 30, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: research