Comments for The Prepared Minds

Comment on Incremental prognostic value of coronary CT angiography in patients with suspected coronary artery disease. by Paul Schoenhagen

Paul Schoenhagen — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:28:35 +0000

Comment on Prognostic Significance of Myocardial Fibrosis Quantification by Histopathology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Severe Aortic Valve Disease by Paul Schoenhagen

Paul Schoenhagen — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:50:29 +0000

See comment by Christopher Kramer:

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging identification of myocardial fibrosis: the need for standardization and therapies.
Kramer CM.
J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010 Jul 20;56(4):288-9.
PMID: 20633820

Comment on Remodeling of Carotid Arteries Detected with MR Imaging: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Carotid MRI Study by Paul Schoenhagen

Paul Schoenhagen — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:46:25 +0000

See post from January 2010:

Arterial Remodeling in the Subclinical Carotid Artery Disease.
Hunter R. Underhill, Chun Yuan, Vasily L. Yarnykh, Baocheng Chu, Minako Oikawa, Nayak L. Polissar, Stephen M. Schwartz, Gail P. Jarvik, Thomas S. Hatsukami.
J Am Coll Cardiol Img . 2009; 2(208):1381-1389.
PMID: 20083072

Comment on Minimally-Invasive Valve Surgery: STATE-OF-THE-ART PAPER by Paul Schoenhagen

Paul Schoenhagen — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:59:31 +0000

Imaging in the context of minimally invasive valve surgery is an increasingly important aspect.

Comment on Aortic Stiffness Independently Predicts Exercise Capacity in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: A Multimodality Imaging Study by Ronen Rubinshtein

Ronen Rubinshtein — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:16:46 +0000

Interesting application of CMR for aortic stiffness! This measurement is important for prognosis assessment, and possibly in assessing drug effect. Potential use with non-invasive method is of important, especially for patients with hypertrophic heart diseases (HCM, such as in this study, or other conditions).

Comment on Small Coronary Calcifications Are Not Detectable by 64-Slice Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography by Paul Schoenhagen

Paul Schoenhagen — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:46:46 +0000

See associated editorial:
IVUS detects more coronary calcifications than MSCT; matter of both resolution and cross-sectional assessment?
E. E. van der Wall, F. R. de Graaf, J. E. van Velzen, J. W. Jukema, J. J. Bax and J. D. Schuijf .
Cardiovasc Imaging. 2010 Jul 11.
PMID: 20623370

Measurements of soft-plaque volumes calculated on different software platforms following cardiac CT angiography (CCTA) exams can vary widely, according to a study presented this week at the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) meeting in Las Vegas.

Comment on Cumulative Exposure to Ionizing Radiation from Diagnostic and Therapeutic Cardiac Imaging Procedures: A Population-Based Analysis by Jacobo Kirsch

Jacobo Kirsch — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:00:13 +0000

There is an editorial comment accompanying the article.

While both points of view are important and create the necessary attention that the use of radiation requires. The bottom line appears to continue to be clear: We need to have a better understanding of the radiation risks in patients. How much? When?

In the meantime… ALARA.

Comment on Prognostic Significance of Myocardial Fibrosis Quantification by Histopathology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Severe Aortic Valve Disease by Jacobo Kirsch

Jacobo Kirsch — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:26:08 +0000

Very well designed study with very interesting data. According to this paper, the quantitative assessment of MF has the potential to provide additional prognostic information in the evaluation of patients with severe aortic valve disease. It will be very interesting to see what role the detection of myocardial fibrosis by MRI can play in the future of the ‘decision making’ process for patients with aortic valve pathologies.

Comment on Prognostic Significance of Myocardial Fibrosis Quantification by Histopathology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Severe Aortic Valve Disease by Gian Novaro

Gian Novaro — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:46:02 +0000

Yet another important use of CMR for the detection of myocardial fibrosis; here in patients with severe aortic stenosis, this study suggests that myocardial fibrosis quantification provides incremental clues as to the recovery of LV function and survival, in addition to the traditional risk factors of preop LV size and function, and NYHA functional class.

Comment on Serial Coronary CT Angiography-Verified Changes in Plaque Characteristics as an End Point: Evaluation of Effect of Statin Intervention by Paul Schoenhagen

Paul Schoenhagen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:56:47 +0000