Introduction: Many patients have only diastolic dysfunction without any abnormality in systolic function. We compared cardiac diastolic parameters obtained by gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (Gated SPECT) with those evaluated by echocardiography. Methods: Forty-nine patients (aged 37-85 years, 19 males and 30 women) underwent Gated SPECT and echocardiogr...

Conduction abnormalities of the His-Purkinje (HP) system are common sequelae of surgical repair of heart defects. Standard electrophysiologic recordings may fail to demonstrate abnormalities of the HP system when routine intervals are measured. When the conduction system is stressed, certain HP features that may indicate latent conduction disease within the HP system can be revealed. These feat...

We report a case of intraocular lymphoma in a 65-year-old man, 15 months after cardiac transplantation. On Magnetic Resonance (MR) images, the iris and the anterior chamber of the right eye were found to be involved with an enhancing soft-tissue lesion. To our knowledge, this is the first case of post-transplantation intraocular lymphoma evaluated with MR imaging.

Cardiovascular beriberi is categorized into two main groups, according to its cause: alcoholic and non-alcoholic (dietary). Cardiovascular beriberi can also be divided into a fulminant form (Shoshin beriberi) and a chronic form. Shoshin beriberi is characterized by hypotension, tachycardia, and lactic acidosis and is mainly encountered in non-alcoholic patients in Asian countries, although it h...

BACKGROUND Multi-detector-row computed tomography (MDCT) has emerged as method for non-invasive imaging of the heart. AIM To investigate the frequency of the non cardiac findings in cardiac imaging with MDCT. METHODS A total of 191 patients underwent cardiac imaging with 64-slice MDCT over a period of 8 months. The detected abnormalities were classified in major (implying an immediate worku...

Background Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) has recently emerged as a new noninvasive imaging modality that offers superior structural and functional assessment of the heart. cMRI benefits from a large field of view but, consequently, may capture incidental extracardiac findings (IEFs). We aimed to evaluate the frequency and significance of IEFs reported from clinically indicated cMRI ...

In the current issue of the British Journal of Anaesthesia, Frey and colleagues present a study entitled ‘Genetic interactions in the b-adrenoceptor/G protein signal transduction pathway and survival after coronary artery bypass grafting: a pilot study’. This report is an extension of a previously published study designed to translate genetics from the laboratory bench into better understanding...

W report the case of a 70 year-old woman of Caucasic origin. She was admitted to the emergency department for dyspnoea and hospitalised for acute pulmonary oedema. On admission, eosinophilia was documented. Twodimension (2D) echocardiography displayed normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF = 65%) and transmitral restrictive pattern. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) cine images showed a...