No abstract

Aortic valve stenosis is one of the most common valvular heart disorders and the prevalence will rise as the population ages. Once symptomatic, patients with aortic valve stenosis tend to fare worse with high mortality rates. Aortic valve replacement is indicated in these patients and besides the standard surgical replacement; a less invasive approach, transcatheter aortic valve implantation, has gained momentum and has showed promising and solid results in patients with high surgical risk. An important aspect of evaluating patients with aortic valve stenosis is the ability to choose the best possible candidate for the procedure. In addition, predicting the short and long-term clinical outcomes after the valve replacement could offer the treating physicians a better insight and provide information for optimal therapy. Biomarkers are biological parameters that can be objectively measured and evaluated as indicators of normal biological processes and are easily monitored. The aim of this review is to critically assess some of the most widely used biomarkers at present (natriuretic peptides, troponins, C-reactive protein) and provide an insight in novel biomarkers that are currently being investigated (galectin-3, growth differentiation factor-15, microRNAs) for possible diagnostic and prognostic use in aortic valve stenosis and transcatheter aortic valve implantation respectively.

Carotid plaque neovascularisation on CEUS examination is associated with increased thermal heterogeneity and ultrasound characteristics of plaque vulnerability in intermediate lesions.

MR provides in vivo noninvasive temperature measurements of carotid plaques, reflecting plaque inflammatory activation.

No abstract

Aortic valve stenosis (AS) is the most common valvular heart disease among elderly. Trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become an established and effective alternative therapeutical procedure for inoperable and high-risk patients with symptomatic AS. The procedural success is greatly dependent on a thorough pre-TAVI imaging screening. This requires a comprehensive and multi-modality approach, in which multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) is the cornerstone in the selection of eligible patients, in choosing the appropriate prosthesis and size, and in mapping the safest access route for the intervention. From our experience of more than 400 TAVI procedures and many more MSCTs for screening purposes, we provide clinical and technical details on the use of MSCT pre-TAVI and brief review of the knowledge so far.

No abstract

Coronary heart disease is the commonest cause of death in Western countries, and atherosclerotic plaques that are prone to rupture have been implicated in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Intensive research has been directed at plaque detection, and various invasive methods have been developed thus far that fulfill this purpose and a lot of them are being applied in the clinical setting. Since invasive methods cannot be used for primary prevention, non-invasive imaging modalities are being studied to enhance the diagnostic armory of clinicians in their difficult task of detecting and preventing ACS.