Background-Noninvasive coronary angiography with the use of multislice computed tomography (CT) scanners is feasible with high sensitivity and negative predictive value; however, the radiation exposure associated with this technique is rather high. We evaluated coronary angiography using whole-heart 320-row CT, which avoids exposure-intensive overscanning and overranging. Methods and Results-A total of 30 consecutive patients with suspected coronary artery disease referred for clinically indicated conventional coronary angiography (CCA) were included in this prospective intention-to-diagnose study. CT was performed with the use of up to 320 simultaneous detector rows before same-day CCA, which, together with quantitative analysis, served as the reference standard.

64-row CT may be more accurate than CVG, 2D Echo, and 3D Echo in comparison with MRI as the reference standard for assessment of global LV function.

In this consecutive cohort of patients scheduled to undergo conventional coronary angiography, the performance of MSCT for diagnosis of CAD was superior to that of ex-ECG.

For the first time in humans with cardiac allograft rejection, increased expression of HSP27, which could be important for cardiac self-protection, was demonstrated. For the lack of increased HSP72 expression, the influence of the cyclosporine A treatment was discussed.

The study was designed to demonstrate--for the first time in humans--that oxidative stress in the heart indicated by lipid peroxidation is associated with time-dependent changes in the enzymatic antioxidative defense. For this purpose, we analyzed the oxygen radical metabolism in 69 myocardial biopsies (taken between the fifth day and 6 years after transplantation) of 31 heart transplant recipients who were suspected of suffering from increased formation of oxygen radicals in the allograft. The levels of lipid peroxides (LPO), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total-, copper/zinc- and manganese superoxide dismutase (t-SOD, CuZnSOD, MnSOD) were compared in 3 post-transplantation periods (5-90 d vs. 91-365 d vs. >1 y). Significantly increased LPO levels were found (0.27+/-0.04 vs. 0. 13+/-0.02 vs. 0.27+/-0.04 nmol/mg protein) in the first and third period. Increased activities of GSH-Px (39.8+/-3.8 vs. 30.2+/-4.1 vs. 76.7+/-6.5 mU/mg protein), t-SOD (1.57+/-0.10 vs. 1.30+/-0.14 vs. 2.44+/-0.23 U/mg protein) and CuZnSOD (1.09+/-0.08 vs. 0.93+/-0.13 vs. 2.05+/-0.21 U/mg protein) occurred only in the third period. For calculation of time courses more precisely, the single data with respect to time were analyzed with a curve fitting program. Except for the first period, the allograft LPO and GSH-Px levels rose for up to 6 years after transplantation. However, the t-SOD and CuZnSOD activities switched from increase to decrease in the third period. The study provided indication for: first, the potency of the human heart to time-limited increase of the enzymatic antioxidative defense, and secondly, the inability of human heart allografts--despite this adaptation--for complete prevention of myocardial oxidative stress.

The present study investigated angiographic emulation of multislice computed tomography (MSCT) (catheter-like visualization) as an alternative approach of analyzing and visualizing findings in comparison with standard assessment. Thirty patients (120 coronary arteries) were randomly selected from 90 prospectively investigated patients with suspected coronary artery disease who underwent MSCT (16-slice scanner, 0.5 mm collimation, 400 ms rotation time) prior to conventional coronary angiography for comparison of both approaches. Sensitivity and specificity of angiographic emulation [81% (26/32) and 93% (82/88)] were not significantly different from those of standard assessment [88% (28/32) and 99% (87/88)], while the per-case analysis time was significantly shorter for angiographic emulation than for standard assessment (3.4 +/- 1.5 vs 7.0 +/- 2.5 min, P < 0.001). Both interventional and referring cardiologists preferred angiographic emulation over standard curved multiplanar reformations of MSCT coronary angiography for illustration, mainly because of improved overall lucidity and depiction of sidebranches (P < 0.001). In conclusion, angiographic emulation of MSCT reduces analysis time, yields a diagnostic accuracy comparable to that of standard assessment, and is preferred by cardiologists for visualization of results.

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Fifty human right ventricular cast specimens were subjected to X-ray cineangiography in biplane right anterior oblique and left anterior oblique (RAO/LAO) projection. From the silhouettes seen in the two projection planes we estimated areas and lengths using a light-pen minicomputer system and calculated the volumes using various methods. The calculated volume values were compared with the true values determined by water displacement. The methods were then arranged is order of decreasing accuracy. Criteria for judging model quality were the mean squared deviations, correlation coefficient, and residual variance. The most accurate calculation of the right ventricular volume was obtained with Ferlinz' method and our own empirical approach.