Myocardial iron quantification remains limited to 1.5 T systems with T2* measurement. The present study aimed at comparing myocardial T2* values at 1.5 T to T1 and T2 mapping at 3.0 T in patients with iron overload and healthy controls. A total of 17 normal volunteers and seven patients with a history of myocardial iron overload were prospectively enrolled. Mid-interventricular septum T2*, native T1 and T2 times were quantified on the same day, using a multi-echo gradient-echo sequence at 1.5 T and T1 and T2 mapping sequences at 3.0 T, respectively. Subjects with myocardial iron overload (T2* < 20 ms) in comparison with those without had significantly lower mean myocardial T1 times (868.9 ± 120.2 vs. 1170.3 ± 25.0 ms P = 0.005 respectively) and T2 times (34.9 ± 4.7 vs. 45.1 ± 2.0 ms P = 0.007 respectively). 3 T T1 and T2 times strongly correlated with 1.5 T, T2* times (Pearson's r = 0.95 and 0.91 respectively). T1 and T2 measures presented less variability than T2* in inter- and intra-observer analysis. Native myocardial T1 and T2 times at 3 T correlate closely with T2* times at 1.5 T and may be useful for myocardial iron overload quantification.

Objective: Several studies have suggested an association between subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and increased cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in asymptomatic patients with SCH by measuring the coronary artery calcium score (CACS). Design: A total of 222 asymptomatic subjects (103 SCH and 119 euthyroid (EU)), who were between the ages of 35 and 65 years and had no previous history of CAD, were enrolled for this cross-sectional analysis. Methods: The criteria for SCH included a confirmed normal serum free thyroxine and high TSH levels. Lipid profile, Framingham risk score (FRS) and CACS analyses were performed for all subjects. Results: The SCH and EU groups were comparable with respect to age, gender, BMI and frequency of diabetes, systemic arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and smoking. There was no difference in the median CACS between the SCH and EU groups. However, in the subgroup of subjects with intermediate/high FRS (AR 10y R10%), CACS was higher in the SCH subjects compared with EU subjects (EU vs SCH, 0.0 (57.0) vs 23.0 (161.5); PZ0.045). Multivariate analysis revealed that the risk for CACS O100 was independently associated with male gender, age O55 years, and the presence of simultaneous SCH and AR 10y R10% (ORZ87.5 (CIZ2.1-3500); PZ0.001). Serum TSH was positively correlated with CACS, especially in intermediate/high FRS subjects (r s Z0.301, PZ0.045). Conclusions: It was demonstrated that SCH represents an additional risk factor for CAD, notably in intermediate and high FRS subjects.

No abstract

No abstract

This article was published with the given name and family name of each author in reverse order. The erratum lists the author names in the correct ordergiven name followed by family name.