We have produced a large database of age-related normal ranges for left and right ventricular function and left atrial function in males and females. This will allow accurate interpretation of clinical and research datasets.

The aim of this study was to characterize the echocardiographic phenotype of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and its relation to biomarkers. Seventy-four patients (59 AE 13 years old, 78% male) admitted with COVID-19 were included after referral for transthoracic echocardiography as part of routine care. A level 1 British Society of Echocardiography transthoracic echocardiography was used to assess chamber size and function, valvular disease, and likelihood of pulmonary hypertension. The chief abnormalities were right ventricle (RV) dilatation (41%) and RV dysfunction (27%). RV impairment was associated with increased D-dimer and C-reactive protein levels. In contrast, left ventricular function was hyperdynamic or normal in most (89%) patients.

Background-Microvascular dysfunction in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) may create an ischemic substrate conducive to sudden death, but it remains unknown whether the extent of hypertrophy is associated with proportionally poorer perfusion reserve. In HCM patients, hMBF decreased with increasing end-diastolic wall thickness (PϽ0.005) and preferentially in the endocardial layer. The frequency of endocardial hMBF falling below epicardial hMBF rose with wall thickness (Pϭ0.045), as did the incidence of fibrosis (PϽ0.001). Conclusions-In HCM the vasodilator response is reduced, particularly in the endocardium, and in proportion to the magnitude of hypertrophy. Microvascular dysfunction and subsequent ischemia may be important components of the risk attributable to HCM.

The utility of interventional cardiology has developed significantly over the last two decades with the introduction of coronary angioplasty and stenting, with the associated antiplatelet medications. Acute coronary stent occlusion carries a high morbidity and mortality, and the adoption of therapeutic strategies for prophylaxis against stent thrombosis has major implications for surgeons and anaesthetists involved in the management of these patients in the perioperative period. Currently, there is limited published information to guide the clinician in the optimal care of patients who have had coronary stents inserted when they present for non-cardiac surgery. This review examines the available literature on the perioperative management of these patients. A number of key issues are identified: the role of surgery vs percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary revascularization in the preoperative period; the different types of coronary stents currently available; the emerging issues related to drug-eluting stents; the pathophysiology of coronary stent occlusion; and the recommended antiplatelet regimes that the patient with a coronary stent will be receiving. The role of preoperative platelet function testing is also discussed, and the various available tests are listed. Appropriate management by all the clinicians involved with patients with coronary stents undergoing a variety of non-cardiac surgical procedures is essential to avoid a high incidence of postoperative cardiac mortality and morbidity. The review examines the evidence available for the perioperative strategies aimed at reducing adverse outcomes in a number of different clinical scenarios.

An intensive two month training period significantly improved the accuracy of LV functional measurements. Adequate training of new CMR operators is of paramount importance in our aim to maintain the accuracy and high reproducibility of CMR in LV function analysis.

Closing arterial ducts in the neonatal nursery by an echocardiographically guided cardiac catheter technique with minimal morbidity is becoming achievable and is a significant advance in neonatal care.

Purpose:To compare cardiac cine MR imaging using steady state free precession (SSFP) and fast low angle shot (FLASH) techniques at 1.5 and 3 T, and to establish their variabilities and reproducibilities for cardiac volume and mass determination in volunteers. To assess the feasibility of SSFP imaging in patients at 3 T and to determine comparability to volume data acquired at 1.5 T. Materials and Methods:Ten healthy volunteers underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging using SSFP and segmented gradient-echo FLASH, using both a 1.5 and a 3 T MR system on the same day. Ten patients with impaired left ventricular (LV) function were also studied at both field strengths with SSFP.Results: For both SSFP and FLASH, field strength had no effect on the quantification of LV and right ventricular (RV) volumes, mass, or function (P Ն 0.05 for field strength for all parameters). At both 1.5 and 3 T, SSFP yielded smaller LV mass (e.g., at 3 T 109 Ϯ 30 g vs. 142 Ϯ 37 g; P ϭ 0.011) and larger LV volume (e.g., at 3 T end-diastolic volume 149 Ϯ 37 mL vs. 133 Ϯ 31 mL at 5 T; P ϭ 0.041) measurements than FLASH. In patients with reduced LV function, all volume and mass measurements were again similar for SSFP sequences at 1.5 vs. 3 T. In volunteers and patients, measurement variabilities for LV parameters were small for both field strength and sequences, ranging between 3.7% and 10.7% for mass. Conclusion:Compared to 1.5 T, cardiac cine MR imaging at 3 T, using either FLASH or SSFP sequences, is feasible and highly reproducible. Field strength does not have an influence on quantification of cardiac volume or mass, but the systematic overestimation of LV mass and underestimation of LV volume by FLASH compared to SSFP is present at both 1.5 and 3 T. Normal values for cardiac volumes and mass established at 1.5 T can be applied to scans obtained at 3 T.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is the only noninvasive, nonradiation exposure technique for the investigation of cardiac metabolism in vivo. MRS uses magnetic resonance signals from nuclei, such as (31)phosphorus, (1)hydrogen, and (23)sodium, to provide comprehensive metabolic and biochemical information about cardiac muscle. This method is highly versatile and can provide metabolic insights into the role of cardiac metabolism, in particular, cardiac energetics, in a wide number of conditions, including hypertensive, valvular, and ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and cardiac transplantation, as well as cardiomyopathies. This method can also be used to monitor patient responses to therapeutic interventions: pharmacologic, surgical, or interventional. When combined with cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, MRS enables detailed pathophysiologic insights into the inter-relations among cardiac structure, function, perfusion, and metabolism. However, MRS is currently used primarily as a research tool because of low temporal and spatial resolution and low reproducibility. It is hoped that future technical developments and use of higher magnetic field strengths (such as 7-T) may enable application of cardiac MRS in clinical practice.