Cardiovascular Imaging

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is among the most common hereditary diseases and is associated with complications such as intracranial aneurysm. A lack of screening guidelines prompted a group of researchers to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of various MR angiography strategies.

By modifying the appropriate use criteria (AUC) for transthoracic echocardiograms (TTEs) and educating physicians on which tests should be performed in an inpatient versus outpatient setting, researchers at Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut reduced their inpatient echo order volume by 11.1 percent and boosted the efficiency of their department.

Stress cardiac MRI (CMR) greatly improved the accuracy of mortality prediction in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD), reported authors of a large, multi-center study published in JAMA Cardiology.

A new cardiovascular imaging technique can reveal important information about the plaque characteristics of a patient’s carotid artery in real time, reported authors of a recent study published in Radiology. One researcher believes the method has the potential to become as popular as ultrasound.

Cardiac MRI (CMR) is rarely performed in conjunction with stress testing of heart patients—nuclear perfusion and echocardiography are far more common imaging aids—but a large new study may begin to turn the tide toward magnets as an eventual first-line diagnostic option.

A new, noninvasive technique for imaging the carotid artery can offer insight into plaque characteristics in real time, leading one researcher to suggest the modality could become as popular as ultrasound.

The American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) have endorsed CT coronary artery calcium (CAC) testing as a decision aid to determine a patient’s risk of heart disease.

A team of researchers from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin developed a noninvasive 3D imaging technique that can provide surgeons customized models of the hearts of mitral valve (MV) disease patients for presurgical planning, according to research published in the January issue of Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 

“Rather than bringing in many additional statin candidates, this testing should serve as a decision aid to ‘de-risk’ certain patients and distinguish those who may benefit from preventive pharmacologic therapies," Johns Hopkins researchers wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Stress cardiac MRI (CMR) isn’t common in clinical practices, but Duke Health researchers found the modality may hold promise as an alternative to more commonly used cardiovascular techniques for predicting fatal heart disease, according to a Feb. 8 study published in JAMA: Cardiology.

Visually assessing diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) infarct volumes proved to be inaccurate and, when using DAWN criteria, would have led to wrong decisions on thrombectomy in 19 percent of cases, according to a recent study in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.

A four-stage system that quantifies the extent of cardiac changes associated with aortic stenosis was linked to the odds of death and readmission following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a finding that may aid cardiologists in making prognoses and engaging in shared decision-making with patients.