Gated blood-pool emission tomography: A new technique for the investigation of cardiac structure and function

AbstractEchocardiography is a widely used and clinically translatable imaging modality for the evaluation of cardiac structure and function in preclinical drug discovery and development. Echocardiograms are among the first in vivo diagnostic tools utilized to evaluate the heart due to its relatively low cost, high throughput acquisition, and non-invasive nature; however lengthy manual image analysis, intra- and inter-operator variability, and subjective image analysis presents a challenge for reproducible data generation in preclinical research. To combat the image-processing bottleneck and address both variability and reproducibly challenges, we developed a semi-automated analysis algorithm workflow to analyze long- and short-axis murine left ventricle (LV) ultrasound images. The long-axis B-mode algorithm executes a script protocol that is trained using a reference library of 322 manually segmented LV ultrasound images. The short-axis script was engineered to analyze M-mode ultrasound images in a semi-automated fashion using a pixel intensity evaluation approach, allowing analysts to place two seed-points to triangulate the local maxima of LV wall boundary annotations. Blinded operator evaluation of the semi-automated analysis tool was performed and compared to the current manual segmentation methodology for testing inter- and intra-operator reproducibility at baseline and after a pharmacologic challenge. Comparisons between manual and semi-automatic derivation of LV ejection fraction resulted in a relative difference of 1% for long-axis (B-mode) images and 2.7% for short-axis (M-mode) images. Our semi-automatic workflow approach reduces image analysis time and subjective bias, as well as decreases inter- and intra-operator variability, thereby enhancing throughput and improving data quality for pre-clinical in vivo studies that incorporate cardiac structure and function endpoints.

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The mitral regurgitation effects of cardiac structure and function in left ventricular noncompaction

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-84233-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Qing Zou ◽

Rong Xu ◽

Xiao Li ◽

Hua-yan Xu ◽

Zhi-gang Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mitral Regurgitation ◽

Nyha Class ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Left Ventricular Geometry ◽

Cardiac Structure ◽

Left Ventricular Noncompaction ◽

Ventricular Noncompaction ◽

Cardiac Structure And Function ◽

And Function

AbstractThis study evaluated the effects of mitral regurgitation (MR) on cardiac structure and function in left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) patients. The clinical and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) data for 182 patients with noncompaction or hypertrabeculation from three institutes were retrospectively included. We analyzed the difference in left ventricular geometry, cardiac function between LVNC patients with and without MR. The results showed that patients with MR had a worse New York Heart Association (NYHA) class and a higher incidence of arrhythmia (P < 0.05). MR occurred in 48.2% of LVNC patients. Compared to LVNC patients without MR, the two-dimensional sphericity index, maximum/minimum end-diastolic ratio and longitudinal shortening in LVNC patients with MR were lower (P < 0.05), and the peak longitudinal strain (PLS) of the global and segmental myocardium were obviously reduced (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found in strain in LVNC patients with different degree of MR; end diastolic volume, end systolic volume, and global PLS were statistically associated with MR and NYHA class (P < 0.05), but the non-compacted to compacted myocardium ratio had no significant correlation with them. In conclusion, the presence of MR is common in LVNC patients. LVNC patients with MR feature more severe morphological and functional changes. Hypertrabeculation is not an important factor affecting structure and function at the heart failure stage.

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Differences between diabetic and non-diabetic nephropathy patients in cardiac structure and function at the beginning of hemodialysis and their impact on the prediction of mortality

Journal of International Medical Research ◽

10.1177/0300060521997588 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 030006052199758

Author(s):

Chao Tang ◽

Han Ouyang ◽

Jian Huang ◽

Jing Zhu ◽

Xiaosong Gu

Keyword(s):

Diabetic Nephropathy ◽

Diastolic Dysfunction ◽

Peak Velocity ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Cardiac Valve ◽

Cardiac Structure ◽

Prediction Of Mortality ◽

Cardiac Structure And Function ◽

Lv Diastolic Dysfunction ◽

And Function

Objectives To characterize differences in cardiac structure and function in hemodialysis (HD) patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) and in those without using echocardiography and to determine their impact on the prediction of mortality using echocardiographic parameters. Methods Clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic data were collected from patients commencing HD. Results Compared with those without DN, patients with DN had lower peak velocity of the early diastolic wave (e′), larger left atria, and higher peak early diastolic velocity (E)/e′ and peak velocity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR). In addition, a larger proportion of DN patients had a combination of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction, cardiac valve calcification, moderate-to-severe cardiac valve regurgitation (CVR), and at least moderate pericardial effusion (PE). After accounting for age, sex, smoking, hypertension, hemoglobin, and albumin, DN was responsible for e′ < 10 cm/s, E/e′ >13 m/s, TR >2.8 m/s, LV diastolic dysfunction, CVR, and PE. LV diastolic dysfunction and E/e′ >13 were the most useful predictors of mortality in patients with DN. Conclusions Patients with DN who undergo HD tend to have worse LV diastolic function and are more likely to have heart valve problems. LV diastolic dysfunction and E/e′ are predictors of death in DN patients.

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Associations of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension dietary pattern with cardiac structure and function

Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases ◽

10.1016/j.numecd.2021.08.050 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

So-Yun Yi ◽

Lyn M. Steffen ◽

Bernhard Haring ◽

Casey M. Rebholz ◽

Thomas H. Mosley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dietary Pattern ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Cardiac Structure ◽

Cardiac Structure And Function ◽

And Function

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Smoking and Cardiac Structure and Function in the Elderly

Circulation Cardiovascular Imaging ◽

10.1161/circimaging.116.004950 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Wilson Nadruz ◽

Brian Claggett ◽

Alexandra Gonçalves ◽

Gabriela Querejeta-Roca ◽

Miguel M. Fernandes-Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

The Elderly ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Cardiac Structure ◽

Cardiac Structure And Function ◽

And Function

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Association of ST2 levels with cardiac structure and function and mortality in outpatients

American Heart Journal ◽

10.1016/j.ahj.2010.06.033 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 160 (4) ◽

pp. 721-728 ◽

Cited By ~ 73

Author(s):

Lori B. Daniels ◽

Paul Clopton ◽

Navaid Iqbal ◽

Kimberly Tran ◽

Alan S. Maisel

Keyword(s):

Structure And Function ◽

Cardiac Structure ◽

Cardiac Structure And Function ◽

And Function

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Abstract 6278: Burden of Chronic Renal Insufficiency in the General Population and Added Predictive Power of GFR to BNP and NT-proBNP in Detection of Altered Ventricular Structure and Function

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.118.suppl_18.s_1173 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 118 (suppl_18) ◽

Author(s):

Alessandro Cataliotti ◽

Richard J Rodeheffer ◽

Douglas W Mahoney ◽

Carolyn S Lam ◽

Margaret M Redfield ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Renal Insufficiency ◽

Chronic Renal Insufficiency ◽

Predictive Power ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Cardiac Biomarkers ◽

Cardiac Structure ◽

Cardiac Structure And Function ◽

And Function

Background: Chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) is a strong predictor of increased mortality in the presence of heart failure (HF) and its prevalence has been increasing in the US. In addition, CRI is a major contributing factor to the progression of HF as it is associated with chronic volume overload, accelerated atherosclerosis and hypertension (HTN). The first aim of the current study was to evaluate the prevalence of CRI in an adult general population. The second aim was to address whether calculated glomerular filtration rate (cGFR) adds value to the cardiac biomarkers BNP and NT-proBNP in detecting early cardiac structural and functional impairments in the general population. Methods: From 1997 to 1999 medical history, physical examination, echocardiography, BNP (Biosite) and NT-proBNP (Roche) and serum creatinine (SCr) were obtained in 1,982 randomly selected residents of Olmsted County, MN >= 45 years (range 45 – 96 years). GFR was calculated using the Cockroft Gault equation. CRI was defined as a GFR < 60 ml/min. Cardiac structure and function were evaluated by in-depth echocardiographic examination. Results: The prevalence of cardiovascular co-morbidities was coronary atherosclerosis 12%, HTN 29.5% and diabetes mellitus 7.5%. The prevalence of CRI was 22.8% when cGFR was used for its detection. Importantly, by Chi-Square model, cGFR significantly increased the ability of BNP in detecting left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (p=0.004), increased relative wall thickness (p=0.0036), diastolic dysfunction (DDF) (p=0.0001) and HTN (p=0.0002). Similarly, when combined with NT-proBNP, cGFR increased the predictive power of detecting DDF (p=0.0001) and HTN (p=0.0366). Conclusion: This study reports a higher than predicted prevalence of CRI in this general US population equal to 23% and closely associated with the prevalence of HTN (29.5%). Importantly, this study also demonstrates that cGFR has additive predictive power when used in combination with two cardiac biomarkers of cardiac dysfunction and remodeling, BNP and NT-proBNP. These studies underscore the increasing burden of CRI in the general population and the utility of assessing cardiorenal function by combining renal and cardiac biomarkers in assessment of cardiac structure and function.

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