Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of Wall-Motion Abnormalities in Adults Without Clinically Recognized Cardiovascular Disease

Comparing Strain Assessment in Compressed Sensing and Conventional Cine MRI

The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of compressed sensing (CS) acceleration methods compared to conventional segmented cine (Seg) cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) for evaluating left ventricular (LV) function and strain by feature tracking (FT). In this prospective study, 45 healthy volunteers underwent CMR imaging used Seg, threefold (CS3), fourfold (CS4), and eightfold (CS8) CS acceleration. Cine images were scored for quality (1-5 scale). LV volumetric and functional parameters and global longitudinal (GLS), circumferential (GCS), and radial strains (GRS) were quantified. LV volumetric and functional parameters exhibited no differences between Seg and all CS cines (all P > 0.05). The strains were similar for Seg, CS3, and CS4 (all P > 0.05). Similarly, no significant differences were observed in GRS and GCS between Seg and CS8 (all P > 0.05), but the global longitudinal strain was significantly lower for CS8 versus Seg (P < 0.001). Image quality declined with CS acceleration, especially in long-axis views with CS8. CS cine MRI at acceleration factor 4 maintained good image quality and accurate measurements of LV function and strain, although there was a slight reduction in the quality of long-axis images and GLS with CS8. CS acceleration up to a factor of 4 enabled fast CMR evaluations, making it suitable for clinical use.

Clinical comparison of a handheld cardiac ultrasound device for the assessment of left ventricular function

PURPOSE

Recently developed handheld ultrasound devices (HHUD) represent a promising method to evaluate the cardiovascular abnormalities at the point of care. However, this technology has not been rigorously evaluated. The aim of this study was to explore the correlation and the agreement between the LVEF (Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction) visually assessed by a moderately experienced sonographer using an HHUD compared to the routine LVEF assessment performed at the Echocardiography Laboratory.

METHODS

This was a prospective single center study which enrolled 120 adult inpatients and outpatients referred for a comprehensive Echocardiography (EC).

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 69.9 ± 12.5 years. There were 47 females (39.2%). The R-squared was r 0.94 (p < 0.0001) and the ICC was 0.93 (IC 95% 0.91-0.95, p ≤ 0.0001). The Bland-Altman plot showed limits of agreement (LOA): Upper LOA 10.61 and Lower LOA - 8.95. The overall agreement on the LVEF assessment when it was stratified as "normal" or "reduced" was 89.1%, with a kappa of 0.77 (p < 0.0001). When the LVEF was classified as "normal", "mildly reduced", "moderately reduced", or "severely reduced," the kappa was 0.77 (p < 0.0001). The kappa between the HHUD EC and the comprehensive EC for the detection of RWMAs in the territories supplied by the LAD, LCX and RCA was 0.85, 0.73 and 0.85, respectively.

CONCLUSION

With current HHUD, an averagely experienced operator can accurately bedside visual estimate the LVEF. This may facilitate the incorporation of this technology in daily clinical practice improving the management of patients.

Influence of electrolyte imbalance on regional wall motion abnormalities in STEMI patients of North Indian origin

Assessing regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) in the myocardium may provide early diagnosis and treat chronic remodeling in STEMI patients. We assessed RWMA in 217 subjects with anterior STEMI admitted to Era University Hospital in Lucknow, UP, India. Besides abnormalities in the LAD territory, sub-sets of patients exhibited diffuse regional myocardial dysfunction. Interestingly, variations in serum electrolytes, specifically sodium and potassium, significantly affected the distribution and frequency of RWMA. Notably, RWMA occurred in the basal septum, apical septum, apex, and lateral wall in the anterior STEMI group. Additionally, the rate of regional dysfunction varied with serum urea and creatinine levels. This suggests that anterior STEMI can manifest myocardial abnormalities beyond the LAD territory. These findings indicate that ST-segment elevation might not be specific, possibly influenced by electrolyte changes affecting cardiac rhythm. Therefore, diagnosing and correcting region-specific wall motion abnormalities and electrolyte imbalances may improve outcomes in STEMI patients.

Pattern and Prognostic Impact of Regional Wall Motion Abnormalities in 255 697 Men and 236 641 Women Investigated with Echocardiography

Background Regional wall motion abnormalities (WMAs) after myocardial infarction are associated with adverse remodeling and increased mortality in the short to medium term. Their long-term prognostic impact is less well understood. Methods and Results Via the National Echo Database of Australia (2000-2019), we identified normal wall motion versus WMA for each left ventricular wall among 492 338 individuals aged 61.9±17.9 years. The wall motion score index was also calculated. We then examined actual 1- and 5-year mortality, plus adjusted risk of long-term mortality according to WMA status. Overall, 39 346/255 697 men (15.4%) and 17 834/236 641 women (7.5%) had a WMA. The likelihood of a WMA was associated with increasing age and greater systolic/diastolic dysfunction. A defect in the inferior versus anterior wall was the most and least common WMA in men (8.0% and 2.5%) and women (3.3% and 1.1%), respectively. Any WMA increased 5-year mortality from 17.5% to 29.7% in men and from 14.9% to 30.8% in women. Known myocardial infarction (hazard ratio [HR], 0.86 [95% CI, 0.80-0.93]) or revascularization (HR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.82-0.92]) was independently associated with a better prognosis, whereas men (1.22-fold increase) and those with greater systolic/diastolic dysfunction had a worse prognosis. Among those with any WMA, apical (HR, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.02-1.13]) or inferior (HR, 1.09 [95% CI, 1.04-1.15]) akinesis, dyskinesis or aneurysm, or a wall motion score index >3.0 conveyed the worst prognosis. Conclusions In a large real-world clinical cohort, twice as many men as women have a WMA, with inferior WMA the most common. Any WMA confers a poor prognosis, especially inferoapical akinesis/dyskinesis/aneurysm.

The impact of upright posture on left ventricular deformation in athletes

Besides LV ejection fraction (LVEF), global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global myocardial work index (GWI) are increasingly important for the echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular (LV) function in athletes. Since exercise testing is frequently performed on a treadmill, we investigated the impact of upright posture on GLS and GWI. In 50 male athletes (mean age 25.7 ± 7.3 years) transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and simultaneous blood pressure measurements were performed in upright and left lateral position. LVEF (59.7 ± 5.3% vs. 61.1 ± 5.5%; P = 0.197) was not affected by athletes' position, whereas GLS (- 11.9 ± 2.3% vs. - 18.1 ± 2.1%; P < 0.001) and GWI (1284 ± 283 mmHg% vs. 1882 ± 247 mmHg%; P < 0.001) were lower in upright posture. Longitudinal strain was most frequently reduced in upright posture in the mid-basal inferior, and/or posterolateral segments. Upright posture has a significant impact on LV deformation with lower GLS, GWI and regional LV strain in upright position. These findings need to be considered when performing echocardiography in athletes.

Machine learning for spatial stratification of progressive cardiovascular dysfunction in a murine model of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) has been utilized to evaluate independent spatial alterations in the diabetic heart, but the progressive manifestation of regional and segmental cardiac dysfunction in the type 2 diabetic (T2DM) heart remains understudied. Therefore, the objective of this study was to elucidate if machine learning could be utilized to reliably describe patterns of the progressive regional and segmental dysfunction that are associated with the development of cardiac contractile dysfunction in the T2DM heart. Non-invasive conventional echocardiography and STE datasets were utilized to segregate mice into two pre-determined groups, wild-type and Db/Db, at 5, 12, 20, and 25 weeks. A support vector machine model, which classifies data using a single line, or hyperplane, that best separates each class, and a ReliefF algorithm, which ranks features by how well each feature lends to the classification of data, were used to identify and rank cardiac regions, segments, and features by their ability to identify cardiac dysfunction. STE features more accurately segregated animals as diabetic or non-diabetic when compared with conventional echocardiography, and the ReliefF algorithm efficiently ranked STE features by their ability to identify cardiac dysfunction. The Septal region, and the AntSeptum segment, best identified cardiac dysfunction at 5, 20, and 25 weeks, with the AntSeptum also containing the greatest number of features which differed between diabetic and non-diabetic mice. Cardiac dysfunction manifests in a spatial and temporal fashion, and is defined by patterns of regional and segmental dysfunction in the T2DM heart which are identifiable using machine learning methodologies. Further, machine learning identified the Septal region and AntSeptum segment as locales of interest for therapeutic interventions aimed at ameliorating cardiac dysfunction in T2DM, suggesting that machine learning may provide a more thorough approach to managing contractile data with the intention of identifying experimental and therapeutic targets.

Deep learning automates detection of wall motion abnormalities via measurement of longitudinal strain from ECG-gated CT images

Introduction

4D cardiac CT (cineCT) is increasingly used to evaluate cardiac dynamics. While echocardiography and CMR have demonstrated the utility of longitudinal strain (LS) measures, measuring LS from cineCT currently requires reformatting the 4D dataset into long-axis imaging planes and delineating the endocardial boundary across time. In this work, we demonstrate the ability of a recently published deep learning framework to automatically and accurately measure LS for detection of wall motion abnormalities (WMA).

Methods

One hundred clinical cineCT studies were evaluated by three experienced cardiac CT readers to identify whether each AHA segment had a WMA. Fifty cases were used for method development and an independent group of 50 were used for testing. A previously developed convolutional neural network was used to automatically segment the LV bloodpool and to define the 2, 3, and 4 CH long-axis imaging planes. LS was measured as the perimeter of the bloodpool for each long-axis plane. Two smoothing approaches were developed to avoid artifacts due to papillary muscle insertion and texture of the endocardial surface. The impact of the smoothing was evaluated by comparison of LS estimates to LV ejection fraction and the fractional area change of the corresponding view.

Results

The automated, DL approach successfully analyzed 48/50 patients in the training cohort and 47/50 in the testing cohort. The optimal LS cutoff for identification of WMA was -21.8, -15.4, and -16.6% for the 2-, 3-, and 4-CH views in the training cohort. This led to correct labeling of 85, 85, and 83% of 2-, 3-, and 4-CH views, respectively, in the testing cohort. Per-study accuracy was 83% (84% sensitivity and 82% specificity). Smoothing significantly improved agreement between LS and fractional area change (R 2: 2 CH = 0.38 vs. 0.89 vs. 0.92).

Conclusion

Automated LV blood pool segmentation and long-axis plane delineation via deep learning enables automatic LS assessment. LS values accurately identify regional wall motion abnormalities and may be used to complement standard visual assessments.

Frequency, predictors and cardiovascular outcomes associated with transthoracic echocardiographic findings during acute ischaemic stroke hospitalisation

OBJECTIVE

To characterise the clinical utility of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) at the time of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS).

BACKGROUND

The utility of obtaining a TTE during AIS hospitalisation is uncertain.

METHODS

We studied AIS hospitalisations at a single centre (2002-2016). TTE abnormalities were classified as findings associated with: high stroke risk (Category I), cardiac events (Category II) and of unclear significance (Category III). We performed logistic regressions to predict Category I, II and III abnormalities. The odds of 1 year recurrent stroke hospitalisation captured by ICD 9 and 10 codes as a function of Category I, II and III abnormalities were assessed. Improvement in predictive capacity for 1 year recurrent ischaemic stroke hospitalisation beyond stroke risk factors was evaluated by net reclassification improvement.

RESULTS

There were 5523 AIS hospitalisations. Nearly 81% of admission TTEs were abnormal (18.7% Category I, 32.7% Category II, 72.8% Category III). Older patients with coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, diabetes, and patent intracranial and extracranial vessels were likely to have an abnormal TTE. Category I finding was associated with lower odds of 1-year recurrent stroke hospitalisation (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.96). Category I data significantly improved the predictive value for 1-year recurrent ischaemic stroke hospitalisation beyond stroke risk factors (net reclassification improvement 0.1563, 95% CI 0.0465 to 0.2661).

CONCLUSIONS

TTE abnormalities associated with stroke and cardiac event risk were commonly detected during AIS hospitalisation. Detection of Category I TTE findings reduced the risk of recurrent stroke, potentially due to neutralisation of the cardioembolic source by targeted therapy, indicating the clinical utility of TTE.

Detection of left ventricular wall motion abnormalities from volume rendering of 4DCT cardiac angiograms using deep learning

Background

The presence of left ventricular (LV) wall motion abnormalities (WMA) is an independent indicator of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with cardiovascular diseases. We develop and evaluate the ability to detect cardiac wall motion abnormalities (WMA) from dynamic volume renderings (VR) of clinical 4D computed tomography (CT) angiograms using a deep learning (DL) framework.

Methods

Three hundred forty-three ECG-gated cardiac 4DCT studies (age: 61 ± 15, 60.1% male) were retrospectively evaluated. Volume-rendering videos of the LV blood pool were generated from 6 different perspectives (i.e., six views corresponding to every 60-degree rotation around the LV long axis); resulting in 2058 unique videos. Ground-truth WMA classification for each video was performed by evaluating the extent of impaired regional shortening visible (measured in the original 4DCT data). DL classification of each video for the presence of WMA was performed by first extracting image features frame-by-frame using a pre-trained Inception network and then evaluating the set of features using a long short-term memory network. Data were split into 60% for 5-fold cross-validation and 40% for testing.

Results

Volume rendering videos represent ~800-fold data compression of the 4DCT volumes. Per-video DL classification performance was high for both cross-validation (accuracy = 93.1%, sensitivity = 90.0% and specificity = 95.1%, κ: 0.86) and testing (90.9, 90.2, and 91.4% respectively, κ: 0.81). Per-study performance was also high (cross-validation: 93.7, 93.5, 93.8%, κ: 0.87; testing: 93.5, 91.9, 94.7%, κ: 0.87). By re-binning per-video results into the 6 regional views of the LV we showed DL was accurate (mean accuracy = 93.1 and 90.9% for cross-validation and testing cohort, respectively) for every region. DL classification strongly agreed (accuracy = 91.0%, κ: 0.81) with expert visual assessment.

Conclusions

Dynamic volume rendering of the LV blood pool combined with DL classification can accurately detect regional WMA from cardiac CT.

Prognostic Value of Adenosine Stress Perfusion Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Older Adults with Known or Suspected Coronary Artery Disease

Fundamento:

Há dados limitados sobre o valor prognóstico da ressonância magnética cardíaca (RMC) em estresse em pacientes idosos.

Objetivo:

Determinar o valor prognóstico da RMC em estresse com adenosina em idosos com doença arterial coronariana (DAC) conhecida ou suspeita.

Métodos:

Entre 2010 e 2015, pacientes consecutivos com 65 anos ou mais encaminhados para RMC em estresse com adenosina foram acompanhados para a ocorrência de eventos cardíacos graves (morte cardíaca e infarto do miocárdio não-fatal) e eventos cardiovasculares adversos maiores (ECAM) que também incluíram hospitalização por insuficiência cardíaca e acidente vascular cerebral isquêmico. As análises univariadas e multivariadas foram realizadas para determinar o valor prognóstico da isquemia miocárdica, com valor de p <0,05 considerado estatisticamente significante.

Resultados:

Após um período médio de seguimento de 50,4 meses em 324 pacientes (48% do sexo masculino, 73±7 anos), ocorreram 21 eventos cardíacos graves e 52 ECAM. Pacientes com isquemia miocárdica (n=99) apresentaram taxas significantemente maiores de eventos cardíacos graves (HR 5,25 [IC 95% 2,11-13,04], p<0,001) e ECAM (HR 3,01 [IC 95% 1,75-5,20], p<0,001) do que aqueles sem isquemia. A análise multivariada determinou a isquemia como preditor independente de eventos cardíacos graves (HR 3,14 [IC 95% 1,22-8,07], p=0,02) e ECAM (HR 1,91 [IC 95% 1,02-3,59], p=0,04). A isquemia forneceu um valor prognóstico incremental sobre fatores clínicos e fração de ejeção do ventrículo esquerdo para predizer eventos cardíacos graves e ECAM (p<0,01 para ambos). Nenhum evento adverso grave ocorreu durante ou imediatamente após os exames de RMC.

Conclusão:

A RMC em estresse com adenosina é segura e demonstra valor prognóstico em idosos com DAC conhecida ou suspeita.

Global and regional wall motion abnormalities and incident heart failure in the general population

BACKGROUND

Wall Motion Score Index (WMSI) is a simple method to quantify global and regional systolic function on echocardiography. We sought to investigate the prognostic importance of global and regional WMSI for the development of incident heart failure (HF) in the general population.

METHODS

We included adults without HF or ischemic heart disease from the 4th Copenhagen City Heart Study (2001-2003). At baseline, participants underwent an echocardiography and physical examination and completed a self-administered health questionnaire. WMSI was assessed by conventional echocardiography using a 16-segment model obtaining WMSI assessments for the anterior, lateral, inferior, septal, and posterior left ventricular (LV) walls and calculating a global WMSI. The primary endpoint was incident HF.

RESULTS

Among 3415 participants (mean age 58 years, 42% male, 45% with hypertension), 83 (2.4%) had hypo-, a-, or dyskinesia of at least one LV wall segment at baseline. During a median follow-up of 15.4 years, 297 (8.7%) participants developed HF. After adjusting for important clinical variables, LV ejection fraction and E/A, hypo-, a- or dyskinesia of at least one segment in any of the LV regional walls was associated with a higher risk of incident HF (HR 3.63, 95% CI 2.15-6.12, p < 0.001). Similarly, global WMSI was independently associated with a higher risk of HF (HR 1.38 per 0.1 increase, 95%CI 1.22-1.56, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Wall motion abnormalities in any regional LV wall and global WMSI were associated with incident HF in this general population cohort independent of various baseline clinical data, LV ejection fraction and E/A.

A probabilistic deep motion model for unsupervised cardiac shape anomaly assessment

Automatic shape anomaly detection in large-scale imaging data can be useful for screening suboptimal segmentations and pathologies altering the cardiac morphology without intensive manual labour. We propose a deep probabilistic model for local anomaly detection in sequences of heart shapes, modelled as point sets, in a cardiac cycle. A deep recurrent encoder-decoder network captures the spatio-temporal dependencies to predict the next shape in the cycle and thus derive the outlier points that are attributed to excessive deviations from the network prediction. A predictive mixture distribution models the inlier and outlier classes via Gaussian and uniform distributions, respectively. A Gibbs sampling Expectation-Maximisation (EM) algorithm computes soft anomaly scores of the points via the posterior probabilities of each class in the E-step and estimates the parameters of the network and the predictive distribution in the M-step. We demonstrate the versatility of the method using two shape datasets derived from: (i) one million biventricular CMR images from 20,000 participants in the UK Biobank (UKB), and (ii) routine diagnostic imaging from Multi-Centre, Multi-Vendor, and Multi-Disease Cardiac Image (M&Ms). Experiments show that the detected shape anomalies in the UKB dataset are mostly associated with poor segmentation quality, and the predicted shape sequences show significant improvement over the input sequences. Furthermore, evaluations on U-Net based shapes from the M&Ms dataset reveals that the anomalies are attributable to the underlying pathologies that affect the ventricles. The proposed model can therefore be used as an effective mechanism to sift shape anomalies in large-scale cardiac imaging pipelines for further analysis.

Association of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Stroke and Cardiac Wall Motion Abnormalities

Background

The association of cardiac wall motion abnormalities (CWMAs) in patients with stroke who have major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to estimate the 50‐month risk of MACE, including stroke recurrence, acute coronary events, and vascular death in patients with stroke who have CWMAs.

Methods and Results

We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected acute stroke data (acute stroke and transient ischemic attack) over 50 months by electronic medical records. Data included demographic and clinical information, vascular imaging, and echocardiography data including CWMAs and MACE. Of a total of 2653 patients with acute stroke/transient ischemic attack, CWMA was observed in 355 (13.4%). In patients with CWMAs, the embolic stroke of undetermined source (50.7%) was the most frequent index stroke subtype and stroke recurrences (P=0.001). In multivariate Cox regression after adjustment for demographics, traditional risk, and confounding factors, CWMA was independently associated with a higher risk of MACE (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.74; 95% CI, 1.37–2.21 [P=0.001]). Similarly, CWMA independently conferred an increased risk for ischemic stroke recurrence (adjusted HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.01–2.17 [P=0.04]), risk of acute coronary events (aHR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.83–3.40 [P=0.001]) and vascular death (adjusted HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.04–2.40 [P=0.03]), in comparison to the patients with stroke without CWMA.

Conclusions

In a multiethnic cohort of ischemic stroke with CWMA, CWMA was associated with 1.7‐fold higher risks of MACE independent of established risk factors. Embolic stroke of undetermined source was the most common stroke association with CWMA. Patients with stroke should be screened for CWMA to identify those at higher risk of MACE.

Prevalence, Mechanisms, and Management of Ischemic Stroke in Heart Failure Patients

Heart failure (HF) and stroke, two of the major causes of death worldwide, are closely associated. Although atrial fibrillation (AF), which occurs in more than half of patients with HF, is a major risk factor for stroke, there is a great deal of evidence that HF itself increases the risk of stroke independent of AF. The main mechanism of stroke appears to be thromboembolism. However, previous studies have failed to demonstrate the benefit of warfarin in patients with HF without AF, as the benefit of stroke prevention was counteracted by the increased incidence of major bleeding. Recently, researchers have identified patients with HF at a particularly high risk for stroke who may benefit from anticoagulation therapy. Based on stroke-risk prediction models, it may be possible to make better stroke prevention decisions for patients with HF. Moreover, non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants have emerged as anticoagulants with a more favorable risk-benefit profile than warfarin. Future studies on selecting high-risk patients and using more appropriate antithrombotics will lead to improved management of patients with HF.

Comparison between conventional and compressed sensing cine cardiovascular magnetic resonance for feature tracking global circumferential strain assessment

BACKGROUND

Feature tracking (FT) has become an established tool for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR)-based strain analysis. Recently, the compressed sensing (CS) technique has been applied to cine CMR, which has drastically reduced its acquisition time. However, the effects of CS imaging on FT strain analysis need to be carefully studied. This study aimed to investigate the use of CS cine CMR for FT strain analysis compared to conventional cine CMR.

METHODS

Sixty-five patients with different left ventricular (LV) pathologies underwent both retrospective conventional cine CMR and prospective CS cine CMR using a prototype sequence with the comparable temporal and spatial resolution at 3 T. Eight short-axis cine images covering the entire LV were obtained and used for LV volume assessment and FT strain analysis. Prospective CS cine CMR data over 1.5 heartbeats were acquired to capture the complete end-diastolic data between the first and second heartbeats. LV volume assessment and FT strain analysis were performed using a dedicated software (ci42; Circle Cardiovasacular Imaging, Calgary, Canada), and the global circumferential strain (GCS) and GCS rate were calculated from both cine CMR sequences.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in the GCS (- 17.1% [- 11.7, - 19.5] vs. - 16.1% [- 11.9, - 19.3; p = 0.508) and GCS rate (- 0.8 [- 0.6, - 1.0] vs. - 0.8 [- 0.7, - 1.0]; p = 0.587) obtained using conventional and CS cine CMR. The GCS obtained using both methods showed excellent agreement (y = 0.99x - 0.24; r = 0.95; p < 0.001). The Bland-Altman analysis revealed that the mean difference in the GCS between the conventional and CS cine CMR was 0.1% with limits of agreement between -2.8% and 3.0%. No significant differences were found in all LV volume assessment between both types of cine CMR.

CONCLUSION

CS cine CMR could be used for GCS assessment by CMR-FT as well as conventional cine CMR. This finding further enhances the clinical utility of high-speed CS cine CMR imaging.

Association Between Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction, Wall Motion Abnormality, and Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source

Background

It is uncertain whether there is an association between left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (LVEF) or LV wall motion abnormality and embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS).

Methods and Results

We performed a retrospective, cross‐sectional study of patients with acute ischemic stroke enrolled in the CAESAR (Cornell Acute Stroke Academic Registry) from 2011 to 2016. We restricted this study to patients with ESUS and, as controls, those with small‐ and large‐artery ischemic strokes. LVEF had to be above 35% to be considered ESUS. In a secondary analysis, we excluded patients with ESUS who had any evidence of ipsilateral carotid atherosclerosis. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate whether LVEF or LV wall motion abnormality was associated with ESUS. We performed a confirmatory study at another tertiary‐care center. We identified 885 patients with ESUS (n=503) or small‐ or large‐artery strokes (n=382). Among the entire cohort, LVEF was not associated with ESUS (odds ratio per 5% decrement in LVEF, 1.0; 95% CI, 1.0–1.1) and LV wall motion abnormality was not associated with ESUS (odds ratio, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.5–1.6). The results were identical in our confirmatory study. In our secondary analysis excluding ESUS patients with any evidence of ipsilateral carotid atherosclerosis, there was an association between LVEF and ESUS (odds ratio per 5% decrement in LVEF, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.0–1.5; P=0.04).

Conclusions

Among the entire cohort, no association existed between LVEF or LV wall motion abnormality and ESUS; however, after excluding ESUS patients with any evidence of ipsilateral carotid atherosclerosis, lower LVEF appeared to be associated with ESUS.

Cardiac wall motion abnormality as a predictor for undetermined stroke with embolic lesion-pattern

OBJECTIVES

Several strokes of potential embolism do not clearly meet the definitions of embolic stroke with unknown source, cryptogenic stroke, or cardioembolic (CE) stroke. Considering the high mortality and recurrence of CE strokes, it is very important to detect treatable cardiac sources of embolism. Although regional wall motion abnormality (RWMA) of the left ventricle (LV) seems to be related to CE stroke, association between cerebral embolic risk and RWMA remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of RWMA on undetermined stroke with embolic lesion-pattern (USELP).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Among a total of 2327 patients with acute ischemic stroke, we excluded 148 patients without a transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). According to a stepwise approach, we excluded patients without an embolic lesion-pattern. Finally, we divided patients into two groups (USELP, 119, and non-embolic stroke, 1237). We classified patients' RWMAs into three major arterial territories according to the standard 17-segment model of TTE.

RESULTS

Among the included 1356 patients, those with USELP had larger internal dimension at diastole and systole in LV, reduced LV ejection fraction, increased E/A ratios, mitral valve disease, and RWMA. After adjusting for multiple variables, binary logistic regression revealed that RWMA was significantly associated with USELP (OR 7.02, 95 % CI: 3.51-14.01, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

This study provides significant information to support that RWMA can be a predictor for undetermined embolic stroke. In this regard, RWMA were highly correlated with patients whose imaging supported an embolic source compared to those without this radiographic pattern.

Investigation of early signs of systolic and diastolic dysfunction among persons with type 1 diabetes

Background

Persons with type 1 diabetes have a higher risk to develop heart failure than the general population, and the mechanism behind the increased risk is unclear. In epidemiological studies with hospitalisation for heart failure as endpoint HbA1c, body mass index and decreased kidney function are significant risk factors, but it is unclear how these risk factors influence the development of heart failure.

Methods

In this study, we investigated early signs of systolic and diastolic dysfunction with transthoracic echocardiography. Statistical analysis on correlation of risk factors and early signs of diastolic and systolic dysfunction was made.

Results

In this study population of 287 persons with type 1 diabetes, 160 were men and 127 were women with a mean age of 53.8 (SD 11.6) years and a mean diabetes duration of 36.2 (SD 13.5) years. There were 23 (8.2%) persons who fulfilled the definition of systolic dysfunction (ejection fraction <50% or regional wall motion abnormalities) and 24 persons (9%) the definition for diastolic dysfunction. When comparing the groups with either systolic or diastolic dysfunction to the rest of the population, the only significant risk factor was age in both groups and previous myocardial infarction in the systolic group.

Conclusion

In our study population with type 1 diabetes, we found signs of diastolic dysfunction in 9% and systolic dysfunction in 8.2%. Compared with published data from the general population, this rate is somewhat higher in a younger population. Only age was a significant risk factor in the study.

Echocardiographic wall motion abnormalities in patients with stroke may warrant cardiac evaluation

Background

The aetiology of wall motion abnormalities (WMA) in patients with ischaemic stroke is unclear. We hypothesised that WMAs on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in the setting of ischaemic stroke mostly reflect pre-existing coronary heart disease rather than simply an isolated neurocardiogenic phenomenon.

Methods

Data were retrospectively abstracted from a prospective ischaemic stroke database over 18 months and included patients with ischaemic stroke who underwent a TTE. Coronary artery disease was defined as history of myocardial infarction (MI), coronary intervention or ECG evidence of prior MI. The presence (vs absence) of WMA was abstracted. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association between coronary artery disease and WMA in models adjusting for potential confounders.

Results

We identified 1044 patients who met inclusion criteria; 139 (13.3%, 95% CI 11.2% to 15.4%) had evidence of WMA of whom only 23 (16.6%, 95% CI 10.4% to 22.8%) had no history of heart disease or ECG evidence of prior MI. Among these 23 patients, 12 had a follow-up TTE after the stroke and WMA persisted in 92.7% (11/12) of patients. In fully adjusted models, factors associated with WMA were older age (OR per year increase 1.03, 95% 1.01 to 1.05, p=0.009), congestive heart failure (OR 4.44, 95% CI 2.39 to 8.33, p<0.001), history of coronary heart disease or ECG evidence prior MI (OR 27.03, 95% CI 14.93 to 50.0, p<0.001) and elevated serum troponin levels (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.75, p=0.031).

Conclusion

In patients with ischaemic stroke, WMA on TTE may reflect underlying cardiac disease and further cardiac evaluation may be considered.

Left ventricular wall motion abnormality is associated with cryptogenic stroke

BACKGROUND

Left ventricular wall motion abnormality (LVWMA) unrelated to known cardiac risk factors is an uncertain risk for stroke.

AIMS

We evaluated whether LVWMA was associated with cryptogenic stroke.

METHODS

This retrospective, observational study included 4316 acute ischemic stroke patients, and the association between cryptogenic stroke and LVWMA was examined in comparison with other stroke subtypes.

RESULTS

The prevalence of LVWMA was 10.0% in the study population. In a fully adjusted, binary logistic regression, LVWMA was independently associated with cryptogenic stroke compared with stroke from large artery atherosclerosis (odds ratio = 1.627, 95% confidence interval = 1.129-2.345), small vessel occlusion (odds ratio = 1.948, 95% confidence interval = 1.261-3.010), or other causes (odds ratio = 4.950, 95% confidence interval = 1.145-21.412). Meanwhile, the association of LVWMA with cryptogenic stroke was similar to the associations of LVWMA with cardioembolic stroke (odds ratio = 0.758, 95% confidence interval = 0.525-1.094) and stroke with two or more causes (odds ratio = 0.992, 95% confidence interval = 0.609-1.615). In multinomial regression, LVWMA had the strongest association with cardioembolic stroke, followed by cryptogenic stroke and stroke from two or more causes. The strength of the associations with LVWMA then decreased sequentially in patients with large artery atherosclerosis, small vessel occlusion, and other causes.

CONCLUSIONS

The association of LVWMA with cryptogenic stroke was comparable to that of LVWMA with cardioembolic stroke but stronger than that of LVWMA with non-cardioembolic stroke. LVWMA unrelated to known cardiac risk factors could be considered an independent risk factor for cryptogenic stroke.

[The Clinical use of Stress Echocardiography in Ischemic Heart Disease Cardiovascular Ultrasound (2017)15:7. Translation authors: Arystan A.Zh., Fettser D.V.]

Stress echocardiography is an established technique for the assessment of extent and severity of coronary artery disease. The combination of echocardiography with a physical, pharmacological or electrical stress allows detecting myocardial ischemia with an excellent accuracy. A transient worsening of regional function during stress is the hallmark of inducible ischemia. Stress echocardiography provides similar diagnostic and prognostic accuracy as radionuclide stress perfusion imaging or magnetic resonance, but at a substantially lower cost, without environmental impact, and with no biohazards for the patient and the physician. The evidence on its clinical impact has been collected over 35 years, based on solid experimental, pathophysiological, technological and clinical foundations. There is the need to implement the combination of wall motion and coronary flow reserve, assessed in the left anterior descending artery, into a single test. The improvement of technology and in imaging quality will make this approach more and more feasible. The future issues in stress echo will be the possibility of obtaining quantitative information translating the current qualitative assessment of regional wall motion into a number. The next challenge for stress echocardiography is to overcome its main weaknesses: dependence on operator expertise, the lack of outcome data (a widespread problem in clinical imaging) to document the improvement of patient outcomes. This paper summarizes the main indications for the clinical applications of stress echocardiography to ischemic heart disease.

Hemodynamic Patterns Identified by Impedance Cardiography Predict Mortality in the General Population: The PREVENCION Study

Background Blood pressure is determined by the interactions between the heart and arterial properties, and subjects with identical blood pressure may have substantially different hemodynamic determinants. Whether arterial hemodynamic indices quantified by impedance cardiography ( ICG ), a simple operator-independent office procedure, independently predict all-cause mortality in adults from the general population, and specifically among those who do not meet criteria for American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association stage 2 hypertension, is currently unknown. Methods and Results We studied 1639 adults aged 18 to 80 years from the general population. We used ICG to measure hemodynamic parameters and metrics of cardiac function. We assessed the relationship between hemodynamic parameters measured at baseline and all-cause mortality over a mean follow-up of 10.9 years. Several ICG parameters predicted death. The strongest predictors were total arterial compliance index (standardized hazard ratio=0.38; 95% confidence interval=0.31-0.46; P<0.0001) and indices of cardiac contractility: velocity index (standardized hazard ratio=0.45; 95% confidence interval=0.37-0.55; P<0.0001) and acceleration index (standardized hazard ratio=0.44; 95% confidence interval=0.35-0.55; P<0.0001). These remained independently predictive of death after adjustment for multiple confounders, as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Among subjects without stage 2 hypertension (n=1563), indices of cardiac contractility were independently predictive of death and identified a subpopulation (25% of non-stage-2 hypertensives) that demonstrated a high 10-year mortality risk, equivalent to that of stage 2 hypertensives. Conclusions Hemodynamic patterns identified by ICG independently predict mortality in the general population. The predictive value of ICG applies even in the absence of American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association stage 2 hypertension and identifies higher-risk individuals who are in earlier stages of the hypertension continuum.

Motion-Corrected Real-Time Cine Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Heart: Initial Clinical Experience

OBJECTIVES

Free-breathing real-time (RT) imaging can be used in patients with difficulty in breath-holding; however, RT cine imaging typically experiences poor image quality compared with segmented cine imaging because of low resolution. Here, we validate a novel unsupervised motion-corrected (MOCO) reconstruction technique for free-breathing RT cardiac images, called MOCO-RT. Motion-corrected RT uses elastic image registration to generate a single heartbeat of high-quality data from a free-breathing RT acquisition.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Segmented balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) cine images and free-breathing RT images (Cartesian, TGRAPPA factor 4) were acquired with the same spatial/temporal resolution in 40 patients using clinical 1.5 T magnetic resonance scanners. The respiratory cycle was estimated using the reconstructed RT images, and nonrigid unsupervised motion correction was applied to eliminate breathing motion. Conventional segmented RT and MOCO-RT single-heartbeat cine images were analyzed to evaluate left ventricular (LV) function and volume measurements. Two radiologists scored images for overall image quality, artifact, noise, and wall motion abnormalities. Intraclass correlation coefficient was used to assess the reliability of MOCO-RT measurement.

RESULTS

Intraclass correlation coefficient showed excellent reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥ 0.95) of MOCO-RT with segmented cine in measuring LV function, mass, and volume. Comparison of the qualitative ratings indicated comparable image quality for MOCO-RT (4.80 ± 0.35) with segmented cine (4.45 ± 0.88, P = 0.215) and significantly higher than conventional RT techniques (3.51 ± 0.41, P < 0.001). Artifact and noise ratings for MOCO-RT (1.11 ± 0.26 and 1.08 ± 0.19) and segmented cine (1.51 ± 0.90, P = 0.088 and 1.23 ± 0.45, P = 0.182) were not different. Wall motion abnormality ratings were comparable among different techniques (P = 0.96).

CONCLUSIONS

The MOCO-RT technique can be used to process conventional free-breathing RT cine images and provides comparable quantitative assessment of LV function and volume measurements to conventional segmented cine imaging while providing improved image quality and less artifact and noise. The free-breathing MOCO-RT reconstruction method may have considerable clinical utility in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for patients with difficulty breath-holding.

Plasma CXCL1 levels and TRAF3IP2 variants in patients with myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

IL-17A plays an important role in inflammatory responses in myocardial infarction (MI). IL-17A signals through its receptor, for which, Act1 (TRAF3IP2) functions as a key upstream adaptor in the pathway.

AIM

To compare frequencies of functional polymorphisms of TRAF3IP2 (rs13210247, rs33980500) between patients with MI and healthy controls.

METHODS

The selected SNPs were studied in 201 Iranian MI patients and 201 healthy blood donors from Fars Province by PCR-RFLP in association with clinicopathologic criteria of patients. CXCL1 plasma levels in 126 MI patients and 50 normal subjects were measured by ELISA.

RESULTS

A significant increase in the mutant (T) allele of TRAF3IP2 rs33980500 in patients with diastolic dysfunction of the heart (P = .01) was observed. The highest correlation, however, was observed between the TRAF3IP2 rs33980500 TT genotype and T allele with left main coronary artery stenosis (P = .01, P < .001; OR = 31.03). T allele of TRAF3IP2 rs33980500 was also associated with female gender, family history of cardiovascular disease, and mechanical complications of heart (P = .04, P = .02, and P = .01, respectively). Moreover, TRAF3IP2 rs13210247 (G) correlated with mechanical complications of the heart (P = .01). A significant increase in the plasma levels of CXCL1 chemokine in patients (P = .0006) associated with TT genotype of TRAF3IP2 (rs33980500) was observed (P = .04).

CONCLUSION

The gene variants of Act1 adaptor are associated with correlates of poor outcome in patients with MI and plasma CXCL1 levels.

Heart Failure as a Risk Factor for Stroke

Heart failure (HF) is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Despite the high incidence of stroke in patients with HF, there has been a controversy as to whether HF itself is a risk factor for stroke. Recently, there is a great deal of evidence that HF itself increases the risk of stroke. In previous studies, the benefit of warfarin for stroke prevention in patients with HF was offset by the risk of bleeding. In the era of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants with low bleeding profiles, we can expect a more effective stroke prevention in patients with HF by selective anticoagulation. The purpose of this review is to describe the relationship between stroke and HF, which could be an unconventional risk factor and a potential intervention target for stroke prevention.

Free Fatty Acid Is Associated with Thrombogenicity in Cardioembolic Stroke

Background: Recently, the role of free fatty acids (FFAs) in thromboembolism has re-emerged in the context of cardioembolic stroke. Therefore, we attempted to determine the role of FFAs in embolic risk in various potential sources of cardioembolism (PSCE). We hypothesized that if elevated FFA levels in stroke patients are associated with thrombogenesis, then patients with a well-known high risk of embolic sources would have high FFA levels. Methods: Data collected from 2 hospital-based stroke registries were analyzed to investigate the association between FFA and PSCE. Results: A total of 2,770 acute stroke patients, including 539 with cardioembolic stroke, were selected for analysis. FFA was an independent predictor for cardioembolism (OR 2.755, 95% CI 2.221-3.417, p < 0.001). Among the PSCE, FFA levels were significantly associated with high risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), valvular heart disease, congestive heart failure with low ejection fraction, left atrial thrombus, left ventricular thrombus, left atrial smoke, and ventricular wall motion abnormality. FFA levels increased with the number of PSCE per patient without interaction with the presence of AF. Conclusions: Among acute stroke patients, FFA levels increased in groups with higher risk of cardioembolic stroke irrespective of the presence of AF. These results suggest that enhanced thrombogenicity could be the main mechanism to explain the elevated FFA levels in patients with cardioembolic stroke.

The utility of global longitudinal strain in the identification of prior myocardial infarction in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction

Prior myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with increased mortality and is prevalent in certain high risk patient groups. Electrocardiogram may be used in diagnosis, however, sensitivity is limited, thus non-invasive imaging techniques may improve diagnosis. We investigated whether global longitudinal strain (GLS) and longitudinal strain parameters are reduced in patients with prior MI but preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The study included 40 clinical patients with prior MI occurring >3 months previously (defined as subendocardial hyperenhancement on late Gadolinium enhancement imaging) with LVEF ≥ 55% and 40 controls matched for age and LVEF. GLS, global longitudinal strain rate (GLSR) and early diastolic longitudinal strain rate (GLSRe) were measured from cine imaging feature tracking analysis. Presence of wall motion abnormality (WMA) and minimum systolic wall thickening (SWT) were calculated from cine imaging. GLS was −17.3 ± 3.7% in prior MI versus −19.3 ± 1.9% in controls (p = 0.012). GLSR was −88.0 ± 33.7%/s in prior MI versus −103.3 ± 26.5%/s in controls (p = 0.005). GLSRe was 76.4 ± 28.4%/s in prior MI versus 95.5 ± 26.0%/s in controls (p = 0.001). GLS accurately identified prior MI [AUC 0.662 (95% CI 0.54–0.785) p = 0.012] whereas WMA [AUC 0.500 (95% CI 0.386–0.614) p = 1.0] and minimum SWT [AUC 0.609 (95% CI 0.483–0.735) p = 0.093] did not. GLS, GLSR and GLSRe are reduced in prior MI with preserved LVEF. Normal LVEF and lack of WMA cannot exclude prior MI. Prior MI should be considered when reduced GLS, GLSR or GLSRe are detected by non-invasive imaging.

Influence of Left Ventricular Stroke Volume on Incident Heart Failure in a Population With Preserved Ejection Fraction (from the Strong Heart Study)

At a given level of left ventricular (LV) systolic function, LV pump performance (assessed by stroke index [SVi]) may differ, depending on LV size. We evaluated whether low SVi may be considered a marker of risk for incident congestive heart failure (HF), independent of LV geometry and systolic function, assessed by ejection fraction (EF) or midwall fractional shortening (MFS), in a large population-based sample with normal EF. Clinical and echocardiographic data from the second Strong Heart Study (SHS) examination, including 2,885 American Indians (59 ± 8 years; 63% women) with normal EF (EF ≥51% in men and EF ≥55% in women) and without prevalent HF or significant valve disease, were analyzed. Low SVi was defined as SVi ≤22 ml/m^2.04. Low SVi was more common among men and associated with lower body mass index, systolic blood pressure, LV mass index, left atrial dimension, EF, and MFS and with higher relative wall thickness. During a mean 12-year follow-up, 209 participants developed HF and 246 had acute myocardial infarction. In Cox regression analysis, low SVi was associated with higher risk of incident HF (hazard ratio 1.38; 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 1.80), independently of age, gender, body mass index, heart rate, hypertension, prevalent cardiovascular disease, left atrial dimension index, LV mass index, LV concentric geometry, EF or MFS, and abnormal wall motion, also accounting for myocardial infarction as a competing risk event. In conclusion, in the SHS, low SVi was associated with higher incident rate of HF, independently of LV geometry and systolic function and other major confounders.

The clinical use of stress echocardiography in ischemic heart disease

Stress echocardiography is an established technique for the assessment of extent and severity of coronary artery disease. The combination of echocardiography with a physical, pharmacological or electrical stress allows to detect myocardial ischemia with an excellent accuracy. A transient worsening of regional function during stress is the hallmark of inducible ischemia. Stress echocardiography provides similar diagnostic and prognostic accuracy as radionuclide stress perfusion imaging or magnetic resonance, but at a substantially lower cost, without environmental impact, and with no biohazards for the patient and the physician.

The evidence on its clinical impact has been collected over 35 years, based on solid experimental, pathophysiological, technological and clinical foundations. There is the need to implement the combination of wall motion and coronary flow reserve, assessed in the left anterior descending artery, into a single test. The improvement of technology and in imaging quality will make this approach more and more feasible. The future issues in stress echo will be the possibility of obtaining quantitative information translating the current qualitative assessment of regional wall motion into a number. The next challenge for stress echocardiography is to overcome its main weaknesses: dependance on operator expertise, the lack of outcome data (a widesperad problem in clinical imaging) to document the improvement of patient outcomes. This paper summarizes the main indications for the clinical applications of stress echocardiography to ischemic heart disease.

Markers of Atherosclerosis, Clinical Characteristics, and Treatment Patterns in Heart Failure: A Case-Control Study of Middle-Aged Adult Heart Failure Patients in Rural Kenya

BACKGROUND

Although risk factors for heart failure are increasingly common worldwide, the contribution of atherosclerosis to heart failure in sub-Saharan Africa is largely unknown.

OBJECTIVE

This study assessed the association between atherosclerotic risk factors and heart failure in a developing country.

METHODS

We performed a case-control study of heart failure in rural Kenya. We assessed the risk factors for heart failure by using international criteria based on electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, physical examination findings, and laboratory testing. Atherosclerotic risk factors were determined by ECG, echocardiogram, ankle-brachial index (ABI), and lipid testing. We described the relationship of wall motion abnormalities on echocardiogram, ABI <0.9, and ischemic pattern on ECG with the presence of heart failure with multivariable logistic regression adjusting for age and sex and using adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

There were 125 cases and 191 controls (n = 316); 49% were male. The mean age was 60 (SD = 13) years. Most patients had hypertension (53%), and 16% had human immunodeficiency virus infection. Lipids were in the normal range for all. Cases were older than controls (62 years vs. 58 years, respectively). The most common abnormality associated with heart failure was dilated cardiomyopathy. Ischemic heart failure was the second most common cause in men. Cases were more likely to have an ABI <0.9 (46% vs. 31%; AOR: 1.99; 95% CI: 1.19 to 3.32), ischemia or infarct on ECG (68% vs. 43%; AOR: 3.01; 95% CI: 1.43 to 6.34), and wall motion abnormalities on echocardiogram (54% vs. 15%; AOR: 7.00; 95% CI: 3.95 to 12.39).

CONCLUSIONS

Ischemic heart failure is more common in Kenya than previously recognized. Noninvasive markers of atherosclerosis are routinely found among patients with heart failure. Treatment and prevention of heart failure in sub-Saharan Africa must consider many causes including those related to atherosclerosis.

Heart deformation analysis: the distribution of regional myocardial motion patterns at left ventricle

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that heart deformation analysis (HDA) is able to discriminate regional myocardial motion patterns on the left ventricle (LV). Totally 21 healthy volunteers (15 men and 6 women) without documented cardiovascular diseases were recruited. Cine MRI was performed on those subjects at four-chamber, two-chamber, and short-axis views. The variations of segmental myocardial motion indices of the LV, which were measured with the HDA tool, were investigated. Regional displacement, velocity, strain and strain rate were compared between lateral wall and septal wall using t tests. There are significant variations (CoV = 18.0-72.4%) of myocardial motion indices (average over 21 subjects) among 16 myocardial segments. There are significant differences (p < 0.05) between displacement, velocity, strain and strain rate measured at lateral and septal areas of the LV. In conclusion, HDA is able to present different regional LV motion patterns from multiple aspects in healthy volunteers.

Reproducibility of cine displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) in human subjects

OBJECTIVES

To test the hypothesis that two-dimensional (2D) displacement encoding via stimulated echoes (DENSE) is a reproducible technique for the depiction of segmental myocardial motion in human subjects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Following the approval of the institutional review board (IRB), 17 healthy volunteers without documented history of cardiovascular disease were recruited. For each participant, 2D DENSE were performed twice (at different days) and the images were obtained at basal, midventricular and apical levels of the left ventricle (LV) with a short-axis view. The radial thickening strain (Err), circumferential strain (Ecc), twist and torsion were calculated. The intra-, inter-observer and inter-study variations of DENSE-derived myocardial motion indices were evaluated using coefficient of variation (CoV) and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).

RESULTS

In total, there are 272 pairs of myocardial segments (data points) for comparison. There is good intra- and inter-observer reproducibility for all DENSE-derived measures in 17 participants. There is good inter-study reproducibility for peak Ecc (CoV=19.64%, ICC=0.8896, p<0.001), twist (CoV=33.11%, ICC=0.9135, p<0.001) and torsion (CoV=13.96%, ICC=0.8684, p<0.001). There is moderate inter-study reproducibility for Err (CoV=38.89%, ICC=0.7022, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

DENSE is a reproducible technique for characterizing LV regional systolic myocardial motion on a per-segment basis in healthy volunteers.

Heart deformation analysis: measuring regional myocardial velocity with MR imaging

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that heart deformation analysis (HDA) may serve as an alternative for the quantification of regional myocardial velocity. Nineteen healthy volunteers (14 male and 5 female) without documented cardiovascular diseases were recruited following the approval of the institutional review board (IRB). For each participant, cine images (at base, mid and apex levels of the left ventricle [LV]) and tissue phase mapping (TPM, at same short-axis slices of the LV) were acquired within a single magnetic resonance (MR) scan. Regional myocardial velocities in radial and circumferential directions acquired with HDA (Vrr and Vcc) and TPM (Vr and VФ) were measured during the cardiac cycle. HDA required shorter processing time compared to TPM (2.3 ± 1.1 min/case vs. 9.5 ± 3.7 min/case, p < 0.001). Moderate to good correlations between velocity components measured with HDA and TPM could be found on multiple myocardial segments (r = 0.460-0.774) and slices (r = 0.409-0.814) with statistical significance (p < 0.05). However, significant biases of velocity measures at regional myocardial areas between HDA and TPM were also noticed. By providing comparable velocity measures as TPM does, HDA may serve as an alternative for measuring regional myocardial velocity with a faster image processing procedure.

Recommendations on the Use of Echocardiography in Adult Hypertension: A Report from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE)

Hypertension remains a major contributor to the global burden of disease. The measurement of blood pressure continues to have pitfalls related to both physiological aspects and acute variation. As the left ventricle (LV) remains one of the main target organs of hypertension, and echocardiographic measures of structure and function carry prognostic information in this setting, the development of a consensus position on the use of echocardiography in this setting is important. Recent developments in the assessment of LV hypertrophy and LV systolic and diastolic function have prompted the preparation of this document. The focus of this work is on the cardiovascular responses to hypertension rather than the diagnosis of secondary hypertension. Sections address the pathophysiology of the cardiac and vascular responses to hypertension, measurement of LV mass, geometry, and function, as well as effects of treatment.

Bedside-to-Bench Translational Research for Chronic Heart Failure: Creating an Agenda for Clients Who Do Not Meet Trial Enrollment Criteria

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic condition usually without cure. Significant developments, particularly those addressing pathophysiology, mainly started at the bench. This approach has seen many clinical observations initially explored at the bench, subsequently being trialed at the bedside, and eventually translated into clinical practice. This evidence, however, has several limitations, importantly the generalizability or external validity. We now acknowledge that clinical management of CHF is more complicated than merely translating bench-to-bedside evidence in a linear fashion. This review aims to help explore this evolving area from an Australian perspective. We describe the continuation of research once core evidence is established and describe how clinician-scientist collaboration with a bedside-to-bench view can help enhance evidence translation and generalizability. We describe why an extension of the available evidence or generating new evidence is occasionally needed to address the increasingly diverse cohort of patients. Finally, we explore some of the tools used by basic scientists and clinicians to develop evidence and describe the ones we feel may be most beneficial.

Visual assessment vs. strain imaging for the detection of critical stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery in patients without a history of myocardial infarction

AIMS

We sought to determine the prevalence of overt and subclinical LV dysfunction in patients with critical left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) stenosis but without a history of myocardial infarction and to compare diagnostic value of routine echocardiographic parameters with myocardial strain analysis for detection of critical LAD stenosis.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We retrospectively studied 269 patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD)-209 consecutive patients with critical LAD stenosis and 60 consecutive patients with atypical chest pain and without CAD. Conventional visual assessment of LV asynergy in the LAD territory was compared with global, regional, and segmental peak systolic longitudinal strain (PSLS) parameters derived by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D STE). Wall motion abnormalities in the LAD territory were found in 41% of patients with critical LAD stenosis, whereas, depending on the cut-off value, global longitudinal strain (GLS) was impaired in 42-69% of patients. GLS with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.85 showed better discriminative power for detecting critical LAD stenosis than conventional wall motion score index (AUC 0.73, P < 0.05, for the difference between the AUCs). PSLS values were significantly lower in basal and midventricular segments supplied by critically narrowed LAD, particularly if they also appeared dysfunctional on visual assessment.

CONCLUSIONS

Detection of subclinical LV dysfunction by 2D STE might improve identification of patients with critical LAD stenosis, although visually apparent regional LV dysfunction in the LAD territory is not uncommon finding in this subset of patients.

Lung function and heart disease in American Indian adults with high frequency of metabolic abnormalities (from the Strong Heart Study)

The associations of pulmonary function with cardiovascular disease (CVD) independent of diabetes mellitus (DM) and metabolic syndrome have not been examined in a population-based setting. We examined prevalence and incidence CVD in relation to lower pulmonary function in the Strong Heart Study second examination (1993 to 1995) in 352 CVD and 2,873 non-CVD adults free of overt lung disease (mean age 60 years). Lung function was assessed by standard spirometry. Participants with metabolic syndrome or DM with or without CVD had lower pulmonary function than participants without these conditions after adjustment for hypertension, age, gender, abdominal obesity, smoking, physical activity index, and study field center. CVD participants with DM had significantly lower forced vital capacity than participants with CVD alone. Significant associations were observed between reduced pulmonary function, preclinical CVD, and prevalent CVD after adjustment for multiple CVD risk factors. During follow-up (median 13.3 years), pulmonary function did not predict CVD incidence, it predicted CVD mortality. Among 3,225 participants, 412 (298 without baseline CVD) died from CVD by the end of 2008. In models adjusted for multiple CVD risk factors, DM, metabolic syndrome, and baseline CVD, compared with highest quartile of lung function, lower lung function predicted CVD mortality (relative risk up to 1.5, 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 2.0, p<0.05). In conclusion, a population with a high prevalence of DM and metabolic syndrome and lower lung function was independently associated with prevalent clinical and preclinical CVD, and its impairment predicted CVD mortality. Additional research is needed to identify mechanisms linking metabolic abnormalities, low lung function, and CVD.

Systolic left ventricular function according to left ventricular concentricity and dilatation in hypertensive patients: the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in hypertension study

BACKGROUND

Left ventricular hypertrophy [LVH, high left ventricular mass (LVM)] is traditionally classified as concentric or eccentric based on left ventricular relative wall thickness. We evaluated left ventricular systolic function in a new four-group LVH classification based on left ventricular dilatation [high left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV) index and concentricity (LVM/EDV)] in hypertensive patients.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Nine hundred thirty-nine participants in the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in hypertension (LIFE) echocardiography substudy had measurable LVM at enrolment. Patients with LVH (LVM/body surface area ≥116 g/m in men and ≥96 g/m in women) were divided into four groups; 'eccentric nondilated' (normal LVM/EDV and EDV), 'eccentric dilated' (increased EDV, normal LVM/EDV), 'concentric nondilated' (increased LVM/EDV with normal EDV), and 'concentric dilated' (increased LVM/EDV and EDV) and compared to patients with normal LVM. At baseline, 12% had eccentric nondilated, 20% eccentric dilated, 29% concentric nondilated, and 14% concentric dilated LVH, with normal LVM in 25%. Compared with the concentric nondilated LVH group, those with concentric dilated LVH had significantly lower pulse pressure/stroke index and ejection fraction; higher LVM index, stroke volume, cardiac output, left ventricular midwall shortening, left atrial volume and isovolumic relaxation time; and more had segmental wall motion abnormalities (all P < 0.05). Similar differences existed between patients with eccentric dilated and those with eccentric nondilated LVH (all P < 0.05). Compared with patients with normal LVM, the eccentric nondilated had higher LV stroke volume, pulse pressure/stroke index, Cornell voltage product and SBP, and lower heart rate and fewer were African-American (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The new four-group classification of LVH identifies dilated subgroups with reduced left ventricular function among patients currently classified with eccentric or concentric LVH.

Regional strain determination and myocardial infarction detection by three-dimensional echocardiography with varied temporal resolution

BACKGROUND

Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) is a promising method for strain determination; however, there are temporal resolution concerns. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of 3DE on longitudinal and circumferential strain (LS, CS) determination and infarction detection under variable frame rates (FR) and "heart rates" (stroke rates [SR]) conditions.

METHODS

Latex balloons were sewn into the left ventricle (LV) of 20 freshly harvested pig hearts which were then passively driven by a pulsatile pump apparatus at stroke volumes (SV) 30-70 mL. The hearts were pumped at 2 normal limits of human heart rate. Full-volume data were acquired before and after a simulated myocardial infarction (MI) at the 2 most commonly used FRs. LS and CS values were evaluated against sonomicrometry.

RESULTS

Longitudinal strain and CS derived from high FR acquisitions showed statistically superior correlations with sonomicrometry data (LS: R(2) = 0.85, CS: R(2) = 0.84) than strain values from low FR (LS: R(2) = 0.78, CS: R(2) = 0.76) (all P < 0.01). After MI induction, LS and CS at different FRs were significantly decreased while maintaining excellent correlations with sonomicrometry data (all P < 0.001). There is no statistical difference of strain values between different SR acquisitions.

CONCLUSION

Three-dimensional wall-motion tracking has the ability to accurately determine regional myocardial deformation and detect MI. Different heart rates within a physiologically relevant range have no effect on 3D strain accuracy. Strain values calculated from higher frame rate acquisitions were found to have a slightly better accuracy.

Feature tracking compared with tissue tagging measurements of segmental strain by cardiovascular magnetic resonance

BACKGROUND

Left ventricular segmental wall motion analysis is important for clinical decision making in cardiac diseases. Strain analysis with myocardial tissue tagging is the non-invasive gold standard for quantitative assessment, however, it is time-consuming. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance myocardial feature-tracking (CMR-FT) can rapidly perform strain analysis, because it can be employed with standard CMR cine-imaging. The aim is to validate segmental peak systolic circumferential strain (peak SCS) and time to peak systolic circumferential strain (T2P-SCS) analysed by CMR-FT against tissue tagging, and determine its intra and inter-observer variability.

METHODS

Patients in whom both cine CMR and tissue tagging has been performed were selected. CMR-FT analysis was done using endocardial (CMR-FTendo) and mid-wall contours (CMR-FTmid). The Intra Class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Pearson correlation were calculated.

RESULTS

10 healthy volunteers, 10 left bundle branch block (LBBB) and 10 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients were selected. With CMR-FT all 480 segments were analyzable and with tissue tagging 464 segments.Significant differences in mean peak SCS values of the total study group were present between CMR-FTendo and tissue tagging (-23.8 ± 9.9% vs -13.4 ± 3.3%, p<0.001). Differences were smaller between CMR-FTmid and tissue tagging (-16.4 ± 6.1% vs -13.4 ± 3.3%, p=0.001). The ICC of the mean peak SCS of the total study group between CMR-FTendo and tissue tagging was low (0.19 (95%-CI-0.10-0.49), p=0.02). Comparable results were seen between CMR-FTmid and tissue tagging. In LBBB patients, mean T2P-SCS values measured with CMR-FTendo and CMR-FTmid were 418 ± 66 ms, 454 ± 60 ms, which were longer than with tissue tagging, 376 ± 55 ms, both p<0.05. ICC of the mean T2P-SCS between CMR-FTendo and tissue tagging was 0.64 (95%-CI-0.36-0.81), p<0.001, this was better in the healthy volunteers and LBBB group, whereas the ICC between CMR-FTmid and tissue tagging was lower.The intra and inter-observer agreement of segmental peak SCS with CMR-FTmid was lower compared with tissue tagging; similar results were seen for segmental T2P-SCS.

CONCLUSIONS

The intra and inter-observer agreement of segmental peak SCS and T2P-SCS is substantially lower with CMR-FTmid compared with tissue tagging. Therefore, current segmental CMR-FTmid techniques are not yet applicable for clinical and research purposes.

The Prognostic Significance of Resting Regional Left Ventricular Function in Patients With Varying Degrees of Myocardial Ischemia

Background

Our aim was to determine whether regional left ventricular (LV) function on a resting transthoracic echo (TTE) provides prognostic information in patients with varying degrees of ischemia on myocardial perfusion imaging.

Methods

Between 2004 - 2009, we identified 503 patients (mean age 69 (SD 11); 79% male) with reversible ischemia on a myocardial SPECT scan who had a TTE within 30 days. We evaluated the rate of subsequent revascularization and death for all patients.

Results

Following the SPECT scan and TTE, 246/503(49%) patients underwent revascularization, 64/503 (13%) patients died, 369 (73%) patients had a normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), 242 (48%) patients had a resting wall motion abnormality (WMA), 21/261 (8%) with no WMA died compared to 43/242 (18%) in patients with a WMA. In patients with a WMA (n = 242) there was no significant difference in mortality when comparing patients with small (< 6 segments) and large (> 6 segments) WMA (P = 0.44). In patients with moderate/severe ischemia, the presence of a resting WMA was associated with a higher mortality rate (18% v 7%; P = 0.005). In a multivariable model, LVEF (< 50%) was associated with a hazard ratio of 2.2 (P = 0.002, 95% CI 1.34 - 3.68) however, WMA and number of abnormal segments did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion

A resting wall motion abnormality in patients with moderate/severe ischemia is associated with a higher mortality compared to patients with mild ischemia on myocardial perfusion imaging. Regional left ventricular dysfunction unlike LVEF was not an independent predictor of mortality.

The limited clinical value of a specific diabetic cardiomyopathy

AIMS

Diabetic patients show a higher likelihood of developing heart failure (HF), independently of the atherosclerotic process, than their nondiabetic counterparts. This suggests the presence of an intrinsic vulnerability of the heart in patients with diabetes mellitus.

DATA SYNTHESIS

A cardiomyopathy specific to the diabetic patient was first hypothesized by Rubler and co-workers, in 1972 and recognized as a nosologic entity by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1995. All patients falling under Rubler's definition had ascertained diabetic glomerusclerosis, but were unaffected by major coronary artery disease (CAD). Notably, the mean plasma glucose in those patients was 417 ± 209 mg/dl. Since then, several studies conducted in both animals and in humans have focused on pathogenetic mechanisms, clinical manifestations, diagnostic as well as therapeutic approaches utilized for the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Despite the large body of literature available, the clinical entity and significance of this diabetic complication continue to be elusive.

CONCLUSIONS

In the present report, recent pathophysiological findings and diagnostic strategies to treat DCM are reviewed. Particular attention is dedicated to the clinical manifestation of DCM, that is to heart failure (HF), and to the implications of co-morbidities and metabolic control on its evolution.

Prognostic value of unrecognised myocardial infarction detected by late gadolinium-enhanced MRI in diabetic patients with normal global and regional left ventricular systolic function

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether the detection of unrecognised myocardial infarction (MI) using late gadolinium-enhanced (LGE)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide prognostic information in diabetic patients with normal ECG as well as normal global and regional left ventricular (LV) function.

METHODS

From 449 diabetic patients who had complete cine- and LGE-MRI, 321 patients with histories of CAD, ischaemic ECG changes and abnormal cine MRI findings (LV ejection fraction <50 % or presence of regional wall motion abnormality) were excluded. The presence and extent of LGE were determined in the remaining 128 patients. Follow-up information was obtained for the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) defined as cardiac death, acute MI, heart failure, unstable angina and significant ventricular arrhythmias in 120 patients.

RESULTS

Of 120 patients, 18 (15 %) had LGE. During follow-up (median, 27 months), six patients with LGE (33.3 %) and four patients without LGE (3.9 %) experienced MACE, resulting in an annualised event rate of 7.7 % and 0.9 %, respectively (log-rank P <0.001). The presence of LGE was associated with an eight-fold increased hazard for MACE (HR, 8.84; P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

LGE-MRI can detect unrecognised MI and may improve the risk stratification of diabetic patients with no CAD history, normal ECG and normal LV systolic function.

KEY POINTS

• Late gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI) can identify subtle myocardial abnormalities. • LGE-MRI can detect myocardial infarction missed by ECG and cine-MRI. • Unrecognised MI detected by LGE-MRI was associated with adverse cardiac events. • LGE-MRI helps clinicians to assess diabetic patients with unrecognised MI.