The SASHA sequence is a simple and fast approach to in vivo T1 mapping with good accuracy in simulations and phantom experiments.

The parameters of wave intensity analysis are calculated from incremental changes in pressure and velocity. While it is clear that forward- and backward-traveling waves induce incremental changes in pressure, not all incremental changes in pressure are due to waves; changes in pressure may also be due to changes in the volume of a compliant structure. When the left ventricular ejects blood rapidly into the aorta, aortic pressure increases, in part, because of the increase in aortic volume: aortic inflow is momentarily greater than aortic outflow. Therefore, to properly quantify the effects of forward or backward waves on arterial pressure and velocity (flow), the component of the incremental change in arterial pressure that is due only to this increase in arterial volume--and not, fundamentally, due to waves--first must be excluded. This component is the pressure generated by the filling and emptying of the reservoir, Otto Frank's Windkessel.

. Systemic venous circulation. Waves propagating on a windkessel: relation of arterial and venous windkessels to systemic vascular resistance. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 290: H154 -H162, 2006. First published August 19, 2005 doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00494.2005.-Compared with arterial hemodynamics, there has been relatively little study of venous hemodynamics. We propose that the venous system behaves just like the arterial system: waves propagate on a time-varying reservoir, the windkessel, which functions as the reverse of the arterial windkessel. During later diastole, pressure increases exponentially to approach an asymptotic value as inflow continues in the absence of outflow. Our study in eight open-chest dogs showed that windkessel-related arterial resistance was ϳ62% of total systemic vascular resistance, whereas windkesselrelated venous resistance was only ϳ7%. Total venous compliance was found to be 21 times larger than arterial compliance (n ϭ 3). Inferior vena caval compliance (0.32 Ϯ 0.015 ml ⅐ mmHg Ϫ1 ⅐ kg Ϫ1 ; mean Ϯ SE) was ϳ14 times the aortic compliance (0.023 Ϯ 0.002 ml ⅐ mmHg Ϫ1 ⅐ kg Ϫ1 ; n ϭ 8). Despite greater venous compliance, the variation in venous windkessel volume (i.e., compliance ϫ windkessel pulse pressure; 7.8 Ϯ 1.1 ml) was only ϳ32% of the variation in aortic windkessel volume (24.3 Ϯ 2.9 ml) because of the larger arterial pressure variation. In addition, and contrary to previous understanding, waves generated by the right heart propagated upstream as far as the femoral vein, but excellent proportionality between the excess pressure and venous outflow suggests that no reflected waves returned to the right atrium. Thus the venous windkessel model not only successfully accounts for variations in the venous pressure and flow waveforms but also, in combination with the arterial windkessel, provides a coherent view of the systemic circulation. systemic circulation SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS have been devoted to the understanding of arterial hemodynamics, but much less attention has been paid to the venous systems (3, 24). The application of frequencydomain impedance analysis to venous pressure and flow seemed less successful than to arterial pressure and flow because the apparent reflection site was difficult to explain physiologically (27,32). Brecher studied venous hemodynamics, and Sjostrand suggested that the cavae constituted a "surge chamber," which Rushmer termed a "preventricular sump." Noordergraaf (24) concluded that "no analytical treatment of the pressure-flow relationship in relation to. . .cardiac activity has been proposed. As a consequence, Brecher's suggestion that the central veins constitute the functional counterpart of the arterial reservoir, transforming steady flow into pulsatile flow, has not received the scientific scrutiny that such an intuitively appealing idea deserves." Thus we have endeavored to develop a new model in an attempt to follow Brecher's suggestion and to understand venous hemodynamics better.In 1992, Tyberg (33) proposed a steady-state hydraulic mod...

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The recommended cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) diagnostic criteria for active myocarditis ("Lake Louise Criteria") are based on edema-sensitive (T2-weighted) imaging and two different contrast-enhanced techniques, the early gadolinium enhancement ratio (EGEr) and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). Because fast spin echo sequences used for determining the EGEr and edema-sensitive T2-weighted sequences have inconsistent image quality, these components are often skipped in institutional standard protocols. We aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of the Lake Louise Criteria with and without T2-weighted or early gadolinium-enhanced CMR imaging in a clinical setting. We investigated 35 patients with suspected acute myocarditis (27 males; Age 39.8 ± 16.6) and 10 healthy controls (5 males; age 33.8 ± 10.4). CMR sequences investigated included an edema-sensitive short-T1 triple inversion recovery, T1-weighted turbo spin echo imaging before and within 4 min after gadolinium injection (EGEr), and a phase sensitive inversion-recovery gradient echo sequence 5-10 min after gadolinium injection (LGE). Quantitative and qualitative image analyses, respectively, were performed for EGEr and areas with increased signal in LGE and edema-sensitive images. EGEr, T2, and LGE burden were significantly higher in patients than in controls (EGEr: 5.8 ± 3.0 vs. 2.5 ± 1.7; p = 0.002, T2: 24 vs. 0; p < 0.001, LGE: 27 vs. 4; p < 0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy were as follows: EGEr: 66, 90, 96, 43, and 72%; T2: 69, 100, 100, 53, and 76%; LGE: 77, 60, 87, 43 and 73%; T2 and/or LGE: 91, 60, 89, 67, 84% Lake Louise Criteria, "two out of three": 80, 90, 96, 53, and 82%. The sensitivity of "T2 and/or LGE" was significantly higher than the Lake Louise Criteria (p < 0.05), while the overall diagnostic accuracy was not statistically different. The overall diagnostic accuracy "T2 and/or LGE" was significantly better than that of LGE alone. The positive likelihood ratio was higher for the Lake Louise Criteria (7.7) than for EGE alone (6.3), T2 and/or LGE (2.3) or LGE alone (1.9). In patients with clinical evidence for relevant active myocarditis, skipping T2-weighted imaging or early GD enhancement is associated with a significantly lower positive likelihood ratio, while the removal of Early Gd Enhancement imaging does not change diagnostic overall accuracy, while reducing sensitivity. Thus, in patients where a high positive likelihood ratio is needed, the full Lake Louise Criteria including Early Gd enhancement and edema-sensitive T2-weighted imaging should be used until alternative approaches are developed.

In healthy individuals, breathing manoeuvres lead to changes in myocardial oxygenation, which appear to be mediated by CO₂. These changes can be monitored in vivo by oxygenation-sensitive CMR and thus, may have value as a diagnostic tool.

In addition to the beneficial effects of successful reperfusion, EIR using a bioinductive ECM enhances myocardial repair and functional recovery. Clinical translation of EIR early after myocardial infarction as an adjunct to surgical revascularization may be warranted in the future.

Endografting in the proximal descending aorta cause unfavorable changes in the ascending aortic input impedance and an increase in the PWV through the grafted segment, consistent with an increase in the modulus of elasticity. The grafts produce a negative Gamma at the distal end, an uncommon occurrence in the systemic circulation. Whether this change is of sufficient magnitude to result in post-graft dilation is unknown.