Resting Wall Motion Abnormalities Research Articles

Resting abnormalities encountered in stress echocardiography predict long-term outcomes among patients admitted for chest pain

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Patients hospitalized with chest pain frequently undergo stress echocardiography for detecting inducible ischemia, but other cardiac pathology is often noted on rest imaging. The long term significance of these findings is not well studied. We hypothesized that such findings indicative of cardiovascular pathology on the resting portion of a stress echocardiogram have prognostic significance for patients admitted with chest pain. Methods We examined patients admitted with chest pain at an academic tertiary care medical center over a 2-year period who had stress echocardiography as the primary diagnostic test. Patients admitted with heart failure symptoms or syncope or patients referred for presurgical/prerehabilitation clearance were excluded. Resting and stress echocardiograms were evaluated by cardiologists with board-certification in echocardiography, and resting abnormalities were analyzed for any effect on cardiovascular outcomes, assessed over 3 years of follow up. Survival of patients with echocardiographic abnormalities on the resting study (resting wall motion abnormalities) was compared with an age- and sex-matched cohort of admitted chest pain patients without resting abnormalities. Results A total of 587 patients met inclusion criteria, and 198 (34%) had resting echocardiographic abnormalities. The most common abnormality involved the left ventricle. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) was seen in 16% (96), and resting wall abnormalities were seen in 15% (90); among the 90 patients with resting wall motion abnormalities, segmental wall motion abnormality was seen in 57 (9.7% of total sample), and global LV dysfunction was seen in 33 (5.6% of total sample). LVH in the absence of hypertension was found in 5% (28), raising the diagnostic possibility of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Moderate or greater left heart valvular abnormalities were found in 3% (18). Abnormal pericardial effusions greater than mild (excluding trivial effusion) were found in 3 patients (0.5%), and pulmonary hypertension was detected in 13 patients (2%). At 3-year follow-up, patients with resting wall motion abnormalities were found to have a higher mortality than an age and sex-matched cohort of chest pain patients without these abnormalities at rest; 85% vs. 97%, p<0.015. Conclusions In patients hospitalized for chest pain, cardiac diagnoses with prognostic significance are often detected on the resting echocardiographic examination. These abnormalities offer insight into outcomes, given their propensity to determine mortality three years post admission, and an opportunity to institute adequate therapy that alters adverse outcomes.

Abstract 14174: Abnormal Exercise Electrocardiography With Normal Stress Echocardiography is Associated With Increased Subclinical Coronary Atherosclerosis: Insights From the Project Baseline Health Study

Introduction Patients with an abnormal (positive) exercise electrocardiography (ECG), but normal stress echocardiography (+ECG/-Echo) have more adverse cardiac events than patients with a negative ECG and normal stress Echo (-ECG/-Echo). However, it is unclear if ECG/Echo discordance is associated with a greater burden of concurrent subclinical coronary atherosclerosis. Methods In the Project Baseline Health Study (PBHS), participants underwent stress Echo and a coronary artery calcium (CAC) scan. For this PBHS substudy, participants with no known coronary artery disease (CAD) were analyzed by stress result: -ECG/-Echo, +ECG/-Echo, or +Echo (with or without +ECG). Patients with a submaximal stress test, uninterpretable ECG, resting wall motion abnormality, and/or baseline ejection fraction <50% were excluded. Clinical characteristics, exercise performance, and CAC results were compared between the -ECG/-Echo and +ECG/-Echo groups using the chi-squared test and Student’s t-test for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test was used, as appropriate, to compare all 3 groups. Results Among 1466 participants, 1357 (92.6%) had a -ECG/-Echo; 85 (5.8%) had a +ECG/-Echo; and 24 (1.6%) had a +Echo. Compared to the -ECG/-Echo group, participants in the +ECG/-Echo group were older with shorter exercise duration, but younger with fewer risk factors than participants with a +Echo. The median 10-year ASCVD risk score was 2% for -ECG/-Echo, 3% for +ECG/-Echo, and 10% for +Echo (p<0.001). Greater abnormalities by exercise stress Echo were associated with an increased burden of concurrent coronary atherosclerosis as assessed by CAC score and CAC volume (Table). Conclusions Individuals with positive exercise ECG, even with normal stress Echo, have a higher burden of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis than those with -ECG/-Echo, which may explain the increased risk for adverse cardiac events in the +ECG/-Echo population.

Validity of resting strain/strain rate in prediction of myocardial viability.

To evaluate the validity of the resting strain/strain rate measurements in predicting myocardial viability taking delayed enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance imaging as the gold standard. A cohort of 60 patients at three months followed up after acute myocardial infarction were recruited for this study. Resting echocardiography with offline analysis of deformation indices and gadolinium contrast enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging were applied for all patients. For the final assessment, 268 segments with significant resting wall motion abnormalities were presented. Resting longitudinal strain was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in viable, compared with non-viable segments in all the studied individual myocardial segments (apical inferior, mid antro-lateral, mid-inferolateral, mid inferoseptum, and all other segments). Likewise, resting longitudinal strain rate was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in viable, compared with non-viable segments in almost all studied individual myocardial segments apart from apical inferior, mid inferolateral and basal antro-septum (p = 0.245, p = 0.098, p = 0.097 respectively). Resting Strain and Resting Strain rate could be used as accurate predictors of myocardia viability following acute myocardial infarction.

Dobutamine stress cardiac MRI is safe and feasible in pediatric patients with anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA)

BackgroundRisk stratification in anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA) is challenged by the lack of a reliable method to detect myocardial ischemia. We prospectively studied the safety and feasibility of Dobutamine stress-cardiac magnetic resonance (DSCMR), a test with excellent performance in adults, in pediatric patients with AAOCA. MethodsConsecutive DSCMR from 06/2014–12/2019 in patients≤20 years old with AAOCA were included. Hemodynamic response and major/minor events were recorded. Image quality and spatial/temporal resolution were evaluated. Rest and stress first-pass perfusion and wall motion abnormalities (WMA) were assessed. Inter-observer agreement was assessed using kappa coefficient. ResultsA total of 224 DSCMR were performed in 182 patients with AAOCA at a median age of 14 years (IQR 12, 16) and median weight of 58.0 kg (IQR 43.3, 73.0). Examinations were completed in 221/224 (98.9%), all studies were diagnostic. Heart rate and blood pressure increased significantly from baseline (p < 0.001). No patient had major events and 28 (12.5%) had minor events. Inducible hypoperfusion was noted in 31/221 (14%), associated with WMA in 13/31 (42%). Inter-observer agreement for inducible hypoperfusion was very good (Κ = 0.87). Asymptomatic patients with inducible hypoperfusion are considered high-risk and those with a negative test are of standard risk. ConclusionsDSCMR is feasible in pediatric patients with AAOCA to assess for inducible hypoperfusion and WMA. It can be performed safely with low incidence of major/minor events. Thus, DSCMR is potentially a valuable test for detection of myocardial ischemia and helpful in the management of this patient population.

POS-379 CARDIOVASCULAR INJURY MARKERS IN LONG-TERM HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS: A SINGLE-CENTER STUDY

Heart failure and related sudden cardiac death are the main causes of death in dialysis patients, so searching for cardiovascular injury (CV) indicators may improve the overall survival of such patients. The aim was to identify the N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) cut-off points associated with increased survival in dialysis patients and select echocardiographic markers of CV injury and increased mortality. A single-center prospective trial included 13 hemodialysis (HD) patients without any medical history of CV disease with an age at dialysis onset <65 years old and dialysis vintage of 5-22 years. In April 2018, all patients underwent echocardiography (Echo); serum NT-proBNP level was also carried out. Depending on the NT-proBNP level, 2 groups of patients were identified: the 1st group included patients with NT-proBNP value >3000 pg/ml, the 2d group had value ≤3000 pg/ml. At the end of a follow-up period of 2.5 years, the outcomes were evaluated. A summary of patients' characteristics is shown in the table below. In the 1st group, patients were older and more often were men. 62.5% of these patients had resting wall motion abnormalities (RWMA), 25% had mitral annular calcification (MAC). All patients who had these abnormalities died during the follow-up. In the 2d group, patients didn't have any RWMA or MAC. During follow-up, 75% of patients from the 1st group died, 25% were transplanted, and were alive after transplantation. Among the patients of the 2nd group, 40% underwent kidney transplantation (of which 1 patient died after transplantation due to acute liver failure), 60% were alive and were on HD. Tabled 1Parameter1st group2d groupNT-proBNP, pg/ml>3000≤3000Number, N (%)8 (61.5)5 (38.5)Male, N (%)5 (62.5)1 (20)Median [25%;75%]Age, years55.5 [47;58.5]29 [24;43]Dialysis vintage, years8 [6;9.5]10 [6;11]EchoRWMA, N (%)5 (62.5)0MAC, N (%)2 (25)0OutcomesDied, N (%)6 (75)0Transplanted, N (%)2 (25)2 (40)Alive, undergoing HD, N (%)03 (60) Open table in a new tab NT-proBNP level of ≤3000 pg/ml may be an optimal cut-off point for overall survival, but this requires clarification and research on more dialysis patients. The NT-proBNP level is not affected by dialysis vintage but depends on age. The presence of RWMA and MAC increases the risk of death in dialysis patients and is associated with higher NT-proBNP levels.

P1688 Rare cause of acute heart failure in patient with scleroderma

Abstract A 32-year old female patient, known to have scleroderma, presented with symptoms of recurrent attacks of palpitations, dyspnea (NYHA class III) &amp; dizziness for 3 days before presentation. No chest pain or syncope. Physical examination at presentation revealed hemodynamic instability (BP: 80/50 mmHg, HR: 200 bpm/ regular thready pulse with fine bilateral basal chest crackles. ECG revealed ventricular tachycardia (figure 1), so electrical cardioversion was immediately done upon which the reverted to multifocal atrial tachycardia with RBBB and restoration of hemodynamics and disappearance of chest crackles. She also had thickening of the fingertips’ skin, amputated tip of the right middle finger with severe associated Raynaud’s phenomenon, skin tightness of both upper and lower limbs, Buccal buckling with limited mouth opening (figure 2 and 3). Renal function and serum electrolytes were normal with elevated troponin I, creatine kinase and CK-MB serum levels. Echocardiogram showed mild concentric LV hypertrophy with normal internal dimensions and severely impaired systolic function (EF∼ 20%) with severe global hypokinesia . The RV was also dilated and impaired (TAPSE∼8 mm). Mild pericardial effusion with no chamber collapse (Figure 4, 5 and 6). Coronary angiography revealed normal epicardial coronaries. Echocardiography one month prior to presentation revealed normal LV dimensions, preserved systolic function and mild diastolic dysfunction with no resting wall motion abnormalities, upper normal RV size with preserved RV systolic function and mild elevation of pulmonary artery systolic pressure. The presence of new acute biventricular failure in the absence of CAD and elevated cardiac biomarkers are highly suggestive of acute myocarditis. Medical therapy included loop diuretics, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor, beta-blocker and aldosterone receptor antagonist. She was discharged in NYHA I-II, with normal cardiac enzymes and left ventricle ejection fraction of 30% and resolution of the pericardial effusion. Discussion Scleroderma is rarely present with impaired LV contractility but more commonly presented with diastolic dysfunction (in up to 40% of cases) (1,2). This case was presented with acute myopericarditis with severe biventricular systolic dysfunction which is very rare with scleroderma and only mentioned in few case studies, so no consensus on specific treatment. Few patients with myocarditis and scleroderma were treated with immunosuppressants along with diuretics, beta-blockers, and ACE inhibitors with most of them showed improvement clinically with recovery of systolic function after 12 months of follow up (3). We noted improvement of patient symptoms within few days of diuretics, beta-blockers, Aldosterone antagonists and ACE inhibitors. This case had baseline conduction abnormalities (RBBB with multifocal atrial tachycardia) which could be present in up to 20% of cases (4). Abstract P1688 Figure.

Usefulness of dual imaging stress echocardiography for the diagnosis of coronary allograft vasculopathy in heart transplant recipients

BackgroundCoronary allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is the main factor limiting long-term survival after cardiac transplantation. Dual imaging stress echocardiography with wall motion and Doppler-derived coronary flow reserve (CRF) of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) is a state-of-the-art methodology during dipyridamole stress echocardiography (DiSE). This study involving 74 heart transplanted patients has the purpose to assess the diagnostic value of dipyridamole stress echocardiography with evaluation of wall motion (WM) and Doppler-derived coronary flow reserve for the diagnosis of coronary allograft vasculopathy. Methods and resultsAll patients underwent DiSE and coronary angiography. Moderate-severe CAV was defined according to International Society of Heart and Lung Transplant (ISHLT) recommended nomenclature for CAV, and CFR < 2 was considered to be impaired.Moderate-severe CAV was present in 11 patients. WM analysis revealed four patients (5%) with rest WM abnormalities. CFR analysis revealed that 40 (54%) individuals had an abnormal result. The combined evaluation of WM analysis and CFR resulted in a sensitivity of 72.7% (95% CI: 39.3 to 92.6%), a specificity of 49.2% (95% CI: 36.5 to 61.9%), a positive predictive value of 20% (95% CI: 9.6 to 36.1%), and negative predictive value of 91.1% (95% CI: 75.1 to 97.6%) for the diagnosis of CAV. ConclusionsOur results support the inclusion of DiSE performance in Heart transplant follow up protocol. The addition of CFR evaluation offers valuable information to the angiography findings in the detection of CAV and could be helpful in selected patients to adjust the time and indications of coronary angiography.

Nuclear Stress Testing Referrals: Time for a Novel Radiation Sparing Approach?

A Science Advisory from the American Heart Association implores clinicians to always consider equivalent tests which do not use ionizing radiation. Intersocietal guidelines describe only two scenarios where a nuclear stress test is the only option for non-invasive evaluation: left bundle branch block (LBBB) and ventricular-paced rhythm; otherwise, treadmill EKG and stress echocardiography are feasible. This study sought to measure our compliance with appropriate use criteria,6 and then to apply our own Novel Radiation Sparing Approach (NRSA) to measure what percentage could have been evaluated without radiation. The appropriateness of each referral for nuclear stress testing was evaluated using the AUC. Our NRSA was then applied, reserving a grade of 'appropriate' for patients with LBBB, pacemaker, or known resting wall motion abnormalities. The rate of appropriate referrals was then compared using McNemar's test. We analyzed 423 consecutive referrals between Aug 2010 and Feb 2012. Median age was 64 yr; males comprised 57.2% of all patients; and 64.8% were outpatient. Chest pain and dyspnea were the most common reasons for referral. The rate of appropriate referrals at our facility using the AUC was 93.6%. When applying our NRSA, nuclear stress testing was the required or 'appropriate' test in only 17.7% of our patients (p < 0.001, McNemar's test). According to the current AUC, our facility is referring patients appropriately for nuclear stress testing. However, by reserving nuclear stress testing primarily for patients with LBBB, pacemaker, and baseline wall motion abnormalities, we can reduce radiation exposure to our patients while still providing appropriate evaluation.

Determinants of Cardiac Ejection Fraction for the Patients with Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography

Objectives: The current article aims to identify the determinants of the baseline cardiac ejection fraction, and also the ejection fraction on dobutamine dose of 558 heart patients who underwent dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE). Background: Little is known about the determinants of ejection fraction with DSE. Methods: The response ejection fraction is positive, heterogeneous, and gamma distributed, so joint generalized linear gamma model fitting is used. Results: The baseline cardiac ejection fraction (baseEF) increases as the peak heart rate (pkhr) (P=0.0247), or systolic blood pressure (sbp) (P=0.0007), or ejection faction on dobutamine (dobEF) (P<0.001) increases. The baseEF decreases as the double product (DP) of peak heart rate and systolic blood pressure (dp) (P=0.0017), or dobutamine dose given (dose) (P=0.0255) increases. The baseEF increases of the cardiac patients with DSE who have recent angioplasty (newPTCA) (P=0.0101), or history of myocardial infraction (hxofMI) (P=0.0658), or baseline electrocardiogram diagnosis (ecg) at normal level (P=0.0555). The baseEF increases of the cardiac patients with DSE who have not resting wall motion abnormality on echocardiogram (ECDG) (restwma) (P=0.0003), or positive stress echocardiogram (posSE) (P<0.001), or history of angioplasty (hxofPTCA) (P=0.0384). On the other hand, the ejection fraction on dobutamine dose (dobEF) increases as the dp (P=0.0007), or dose (P=0.0110), or baseEF (P<0.001) increases. Also the dobEF decreases as the sbp (P=0.0012) increases. The dobEF increases of the cardiac patients with DSE who have posSE (P<0.001), or new myocardial infraction (newMI) (P=0.0054), or recent bypass surgery (newCABG) (P=0.0049). Again, the dobEF increases of the cardiac patients with DSE who have not newPTCA (P=0.0708). Also the dobEF decreases of the cardiac patients with DSE who have heavy history of smoking (hxofCig) (P=0.0261). Conclusion: Impacts of pkhr, basal blood pressure, sbp, mbp, dobutamine dose, heart conditions, heavy smoking and others on baseEF and dobEF have been identified based on probabilistic modelling. Most of the present findings and their effects are almost new in the cardiac ejection fraction diagnosis literature.

Marijuana use in acute coronary syndromes

ABSTRACTBackground: Cannabis is one of the most widely used illicit substances worldwide, and it has the highest prevalence among drugs used in Egypt. Objectives: The aims were to evaluate whether the use of cannabis is a risk factor of acute coronary heart disease in low-risk, young males and to compare the cardiac pathological changes between cannabis exposed and non-exposed ischemic patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that was performed on 138 male patients, aged ≤ 40 years, with acute myocardial infarction who were admitted to the Cardiac Care Unit at the University Hospital. Urine samples were submitted for toxicological analysis using a homogenous enzyme immunoassay technique to determine the substance of use. The patients were divided into three groups: group 1 (n = 23), cannabis-positive only patients; group 2 (n = 28), patients positive for any other substance of use; and group 3 (n = 34), patients negative for any substance of use. Results: Smoking was prominent, whereas group 1 had no other risk factors. In groups 1 and 2, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was dominant, whereas no ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) was prominent in group 3. Ischemic resting wall motion abnormalities were presented in 47.8% of group 1 and in only 11.8% of group 3. None of group 1 had normal coronaries, whereas 14.3% of group 3 had normal coronaries. Significant changes in echocardiography and angiography were observed between group 1 and other groups. Conclusion: Cannabis smoking could be a potential risk factor for the development of cardiac ischemia.

Outcome by Exercise Echocardiography in Patients with Low Pretest Probability of Coronary Artery Disease

Recommendations for testing in patients with low pretest probability of coronary artery disease differ in guidelines from no testing at all to different tests. The aim of this study was to assess the value of exerciseechocardiography (ExE) to define outcome in this population. A retrospective analysis was conducted of 1,436 patients with low pretest probability of coronary artery disease (<15%) who underwent initial ExE. Overall mortality, major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), defined as cardiac death or nonfatal myocardial infarction, and revascularization during follow-up, were assessed. Ischemia (development of new wall motion abnormalities with exercise) and fixed wall motion abnormalities were measured. The mean age was 50±12years. Resting wall motion abnormalities were seen in 13 patients (0.9%) and ischemia in 108 (7.5%). During follow-up, 38 patients died, 10 of cardiac death (annualized death rate, 0.39%); 20 patients had MACEs (annualized MACE rate, 0.21%); and 48 patients (29 with ischemia) underwent revascularization (annualized revascularization rate, 0.51%). The number and percentage of MACEs in the abnormal and normal ExE groups were similar (two [1.7%] vs 18 [1.4%], P=.70), as was the annualized MACE rate (0.31% vs 0.21%, P=.50). Peak left ventricular ejection fraction exhibited a nonsignificant trend for predicting MACEs (P=.11). The number of studies needed to detect an abnormal finding was 12.6 and to detect a patient with extensive ischemia was 26.1. ExE offers limited prognostic information in patients with low pretest probability of coronary artery disease. The small number of abnormal findings on ExE and low event rates and the large number of studies needed to detect an abnormal finding limit further the value of imaging in this population.

Comparison of the current reasons for undergoing pharmacologic stress during echocardiographic and radionuclide stress testing

BackgroundSymptom-limited exercise is the preferred method of cardiac stress testing, but pharmacologic testing has been increasing over time. The exact reasons for pharmacologic stress testing have not been rigorously categorized. Thus, we systematically explored the reasons for pharmacologic stress testing in patients referred for cardiac stress imaging. MethodsWe studied consecutive patients referred for stress imaging [stress echocardiography or radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI)] at Mount Sinai St Luke’s hospital between August 2013 and April 2014. Baseline information was obtained using a standardized questionnaire and a trained physician triaged the patient for symptom-limited exercise stress testing or pharmacologic stress testing. ResultsIn total, 551(48%) of our entire stress cohort underwent cardiac imaging following initial exercise testing and 589 (52%) underwent imaging with initial pharmacologic stress testing. Deconditioning and inability to walk (primarily due to musculoskeletal conditions) constituted the top two reasons for performing pharmacologic stress, followed by frailty, left bundle branch block (for MPI), resting wall motion abnormality (for echocardiography), and failed exercise attempts. The reasons for performing pharmacologic stress testing were similar in the MPI and echocardiography patients, despite a much higher level of disease acuity in the MPI group. ConclusionsWe have applied a systematic approach for categorizing the reasons for pharmacologic stress. These reasons are heterogeneous, but similar across MPI and echo stress laboratories.

Acute Beta Blockade at Peak Stress: Will It Alter the Sensitivity of Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography in Patients with Normal Resting Wall Motion?

We compared the accuracy of recovery phase images following administration of intravenous propranolol with peak stress images, for detection of coronary artery disease in patients with no resting wall motion abnormalities undergoing dobutamine stress echocardiography. We enrolled 100 consecutive patients with no resting wall motion abnormalities who underwent dobutamine stress echocardiography. Propranolol was injected after termination of dobutamine infusion. Positive peak stress images were defined as the induction of wall motion abnormalities at any stage before propranolol injection. Positive recovery phase images were defined as maintenance or worsening of wall motion abnormalities induced at peak stress, or the appearance of new wall motion abnormalities during recovery phase. Significant coronary stenosis was defined as ≥ 50% obstruction of ≥ 1 sizable artery by coronary angiography. Seventy-two patients (72%) had significant coronary artery disease. Analysis of peak stress images revealed sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of 80.6%, 85.7%, 93.5%, and 63.2%; the overall accuracy was 82%. Analysis of the recovery phase images revealed sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of 91.7%, 75%, 90.4%, and 77.8%; here, the overall accuracy was 87%. In patients with no resting wall motion abnormalities, acute beta blockade during dobutamine stress echocardiography improved the sensitivity of recovery phase images for detection of significant coronary artery disease versus peak stress images, but with reduced specificity. Accuracy; Beta blocker; Coronary artery disease; Dobutamine stress echocardiography; Recovery phase images.

Prognostic value of Doppler echocardiographic-derived coronary flow velocity reserve of left anterior descending artery in octogenarians with stress echocardiography negative for wall motion criteria.

Doppler-derived coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) of left anterior descending (LAD) artery is an effective tool to predict overall mortality. The aim was to investigate the capability of CFVR to predict outcome in an unselected cohort of patients older than 80 years having stress echo negative by wall motion criteria. The study group refers to 369 patients aged > 80 years (156 men; mean age 83 ± 2 years) who had undergone dipyridamole stress echocardiography with CFVR assessment of LAD artery of known (n = 144) or suspected (n = 225) coronary artery disease. Stress echocardiography was negative for wall motion criteria in all cases. Mean CFVR was 2.07 ± 0.53. During a median follow-up of 21 months, there were 62 major adverse cardiac events (MACEs; 45 deaths and 17 non-fatal myocardial infarctions). With a receiver operating characteristic analysis, a CFVR of ≤ 1.93 was the best cut-off for predicting mortality and MACE. At individual patient analysis, 152 (41%) subjects had a CFVR of < 1.93. Annual mortality was 9.8% in patients with CFVR <1.93 and 3.7% in those with CFVR > 1.93 (P = 0.001); an annual MACE rate was 14.8% in the former and 4.5% in the latter (P < 0.0001). Of 15 clinical and echocardiographic parameters analysed, CFVR ≤ 1.93 [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.17, 95% CI 1.14-4.10] and resting wall motion abnormality (RWMA; HR = 2.60; 95% CI 1.35-5.00) were multivariable indicators of mortality. Moreover, CFVR ≤ 1.93 (HR = 2.69, 95% CI 1.56-4.67), and RWMA (HR = 2.38; 95% CI 1.31-4.33) were also strong independent predictors of MACEs. At incremental analysis, CFR ≤ 1.93 added prognostic information over clinical evaluation and RWMA when both mortality and MACE were taken as clinical end points. A reduced CFVR of LAD artery is a strong and independent indicator of both mortality and MACE, adding prognostic information over clinical evaluation and RWMA. Conversely, a preserved CFVR predicts a favourable outcome particularly in subjects with no RWMA.

Coronary artery disease detected by coronary computed tomography angiography in adult survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma.

Survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) have significant cardiovascular risk and require long-term surveillance. The current study assessed the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in adult survivors of childhood HL. Thirty-one survivors of HL, 13 of whom (42%) were treated with radiotherapy (RT) only and 18 of whom (58%) were treated with multimodal therapy, underwent CCTA, echocardiography, electrocardiography (ECG), and treadmill stress testing. Obstructive CAD was defined as ≥50% occlusion of the left main or ≥70% occlusion of the left anterior descending, left circumflex, or right coronary arteries on CCTA. Echocardiograms with resting wall motion abnormalities or an ejection fraction <50%; ECGs with Q waves, ST abnormalities without Q waves, or T-wave abnormalities without Q waves; and a J-point depression of ≥1 mm with a horizontal or downsloping ST segment on stress testing were considered abnormal. The prevalence of disease in participants (median age, 40 years [range, 26 years-55 years]; median time from cancer diagnosis, 24 years [range, 17 years-39 years]) was 39%, with 39 plaques detected among 12 survivors. Three participants (10%) treated with RT only had 4 obstructive lesions; 9 patients (29%; 5 of whom were treated with RT only and 4 of whom were treated with multimodal therapy) had nonobstructive lesions. Approximately 15% of lesions involved the left main, 21% involved the proximal left anterior descending, 18% involved the proximal right coronary, and 13% involved the proximal left circumflex arteries. Of the 12 participants found to have CAD by CCTA, 7 had a positive ECG, 1 had a positive echocardiogram, and 1 had a positive stress test. CCTA identified CAD in a substantial percentage of survivors of HL and may be an effective screening modality for this population.

Comparison of stress dobutamine echocardiography and stress dobutamine gated myocardial SPECT for the detection of viable myocardium

We prospectively studied a group of patients with myocardial infarction (MI), who were candidates for surgical revascularization, to compare the efficacy of dobutamine gated myocardial SPECT with dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) for the detection of myocardial viability. We investigated 224 segments from 14 patients with MI using resting echocardiography and low dose dobutamine stress echocardiography as well as resting, low and high dose dobutamine stress 99mTc-Sestamibi gated SPECT. In total, 13 men and 1 women with a mean age 54.57 years (range, 43 to 71 years) entered the study. Of the 125 dysfunctional segments, as assessed by ECG-gated examination, 53 (23.66% of total) were hypokinetic at rest, 64 (28.57% of total) were akinetic, and 8 (3.57% of total) were dyskinetic. The number of segments with resting wall motion abnormality (considered viable by low dose dobutamine ECG-gated examination) was significantly greater than those showing a contractile improvement in response to dobutamine in echocardiography (39.2% versus 32.8%, respectively, p < 0.05). In addition, in high dose ECG-gated examination, 42 of the 125 dysfunctional segments (33.6%) were viable. In general, the methods were well correlated. We found a good agreement between low dose dobutamine gated SPECT and stress dobutamine echocardiography for the detection of inotropic reserve in infarcted areas.

Coronary artery disease screening in type II diabetic patients: Prognostic value of rest and stress echocardiography

Aim:Presence of inducible ischemia in type II diabetic patients is associated with an adverse outcome, but less is known about prognostic value of resting wall motion abnormalities (WMA). Materials and methods: From October 2006 to May 2008, 278 patients underwent to CAD screening, according to ADA criteria, by dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE). Between July and September 2009, all patients were contacted to verify the occurrence of new cardiac events. ResultsResting-WMA were present in 63 patients; 88 subjects showed inducible ischemia. During the follow-up, we observed 24 new cardiac events; patients with a good outcome showed less frequently resting WMA (19 vs 50%). Inducible ischemia (71% vs 28%; p<0.001) and a more extensive area of inducible ischemia, expressed by a higher value of peak WMSI (1.63±0.45 vs 1.17±0.31; p<0.0001), were more frequent in patients with adverse outcome. A Cox regression analysis showed that only a higher peak WMSI (HR 6.645, 95% CI 2.782–15.874, p<0.0001) was associated with a bad outcome. Event-free survival was lower in presence of rest WMA (79% vs 94%, p<0.0001) and a higher peak WMSI (66% vs 95%, p<0.0001). ConclusionsIn diabetic patients presence of an extensive inducible ischemia was independently associated with a worst outcome; resting WMA were associated with reduced event-free survival.

Microvascular dysfunction is associated with plasma osteoprotegerin levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a glycoprotein that inhibits nuclear factor-κB's regulatory effects on inflammation, skeletal, and vascular systems, and is a potential biomarker of atherosclerosis and seems to be involved in vascular calcifications. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between OPG, left ventricular function, and microvascular function in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). After successful revascularization, noninvasive assessment of coronary flow reserve (CFR) was performed in the distal part of the left anterior descending artery in 183 patients with first AMI. We performed low-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography to assess viability and finally we assessed the ventriculoarterial coupling (VAC). Plasma OPG was determined by ELISA. Plasma OPG concentrations were higher in patients with impaired microcirculation (CFR<2) than in patients without [median (first; third quartile), 1.939 (1.366; 2.724) vs. 1.451 (0.925; 2.164) ng/l; P=0.001]. OPG was associated with CFR both in linear regression single-variable analysis (P=0.001) and in multivariable analysis adjusting for possible confounders (P=0.024).Eighty-seven patients had resting wall motion abnormalities and 28 patients fulfilled the criteria for viability. In the group with low OPG 20 patients had viability, and in patients with high OPG only eight patients had viability (P=0.03).Both the E/A ratio (1.22±0.65 vs. 1.06±0.39; P=0.04) and the E/e' ratio (10.4±3.1 vs. 12.2±4.6; P=0.002) indicated worse diastolic function in patients with increased levels of OPG.Overall, an increase in the VAC point was observed in the population (1.11±0.6). The VAC point was higher in patients with increased OPG compared with low OPG (1.01±0.51 vs. 1.2±0.67; P=0.03). This is the first study to show an association between OPG levels and CFR, decreased diastolic function, and increased VAC in the setting of AMI. Our results indicate a relationship between OPG and the degree of microvascular dysfunction.

Patient Outcome Following 2 Different Stress Imaging Approaches: A Prospective Randomized Comparison

The study sought to prospectively compare patient outcome after stress real-time myocardial contrast echocardiography (RTMCE) versus conventional stress echo (CSE), where contrast is used to optimize wall motion (WM) analysis.Myocardial perfusion imaging with RTMCE may improve the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), and predict patient outcome.Patients with intermediate to high pre-test probability referred for dobutamine or exercise stress echocardiography were prospectively randomized to either RTMCE or CSE. Definity contrast was used for CSE only when endocardial border delineation was inadequate (63% of studies). Studies were interpreted by either an experienced contrast reviewer (R1; n = 1257), or 4 Level 3 echocardiographers (R2) with basic contrast training (n = 806). Death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), and revascularizations were recorded at follow-up.Follow-up was available in 2,014 patients (median 2.6 years). Mean age was 59 ± 13 years (53% women). An abnormal RTMCE was more frequently observed than an abnormal CSE (p < 0.001), and more frequently resulted in revascularization (p = 0.004). Resting WM abnormalities were also more frequently seen with RTMCE (p < 0.01), and were an independent predictor of death/nonfatal MI (p = 0.005) for RTMCE, but not CSE. The predictive value of a positive study, whether with CSE or RTMCE, was significant for both R1 and R2 reviewers in predicting the combined endpoint, but R1 was better than R2 at predicting patients at risk for death or nonfatal MI.Perfusion imaging with RTMCE improves the detection of CAD during stress echocardiography, and identifies those more likely to undergo revascularization following an abnormal study.

The Prognostic Significance of Resting Regional Left Ventricular Function in Patients With Varying Degrees of Myocardial Ischemia.

BackgroundOur aim was to determine whether regional left ventricular (LV) function on a resting transthoracic echo (TTE) provides prognostic information in patients with varying degrees of ischemia on myocardial perfusion imaging.MethodsBetween 2004 - 2009, we identified 503 patients (mean age 69 (SD 11); 79% male) with reversible ischemia on a myocardial SPECT scan who had a TTE within 30 days. We evaluated the rate of subsequent revascularization and death for all patients.ResultsFollowing the SPECT scan and TTE, 246/503(49%) patients underwent revascularization, 64/503 (13%) patients died, 369 (73%) patients had a normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), 242 (48%) patients had a resting wall motion abnormality (WMA), 21/261 (8%) with no WMA died compared to 43/242 (18%) in patients with a WMA. In patients with a WMA (n = 242) there was no significant difference in mortality when comparing patients with small (< 6 segments) and large (> 6 segments) WMA (P = 0.44). In patients with moderate/severe ischemia, the presence of a resting WMA was associated with a higher mortality rate (18% v 7%; P = 0.005). In a multivariable model, LVEF (< 50%) was associated with a hazard ratio of 2.2 (P = 0.002, 95% CI 1.34 - 3.68) however, WMA and number of abnormal segments did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionA resting wall motion abnormality in patients with moderate/severe ischemia is associated with a higher mortality compared to patients with mild ischemia on myocardial perfusion imaging. Regional left ventricular dysfunction unlike LVEF was not an independent predictor of mortality.