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- Santangelo, Gloria, et al.
(författare)
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Role of cardiac and lung ultrasound in the COVID-19 era
- 2023
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Ingår i: Minerva cardiology and angiology. - : Edizioni Minerva Medica. - 2724-5772. ; 71:4, s. 387-401
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: The primary diagnostic method of Coronavirus disease 2019 is reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction of the nucleic acid of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in nasopharyngeal swabs. There is growing evidence regarding the 2019 coronavirus disease imaging results on chest X-rays and computed tomography but the accessibility to standard diagnostic methods may be limited during the pandemic.EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Databases used for the search were MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus Search, and Cochrane Library. The research took into consideration studies published in English until March 2022 and was conducted using the following research query: ((((sars cov [MeSH Terms])) OR (COVID-19)) OR (Sars-Cov2)) OR (Coronavirus)) AND (((((2d echocardiography [MeSH Terms]) OR (doppler ultrasound imaging [MeSH Terms]))) OR (echography [MeSH Terms])) OR (LUS)) OR ("LUNG ULTRASOUND")).EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Pulmonary and cardiac ultrasound are cost-effective, widely available, and provide information that can influence management.CONCLUSIONS: Point-of-care ultrasonography is a method that can provide relevant clinical and therapeutic information in patients with COVID-19 where other diagnostic methods may not be easily accessible.
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| 3. |
- Bonelli, Andrea, et al.
(författare)
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Aortic valve stenosis and cardiac amyloidosis : A misleading association
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Medicine. - : MDPI. - 2077-0383. ; 10:18
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The association between aortic stenosis (AS) and cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is more frequent than expected. Albeit rare, CA, particularly the transthyretin (ATTR) form, is commonly found in elderly people. ATTR-CA is also the most prevalent form in patients with AS. These conditions share pathophysiological, clinical and imaging findings, making the diagnostic process very challenging. To date, a multiparametric evaluation is suggested in order to detect patients with both AS and CA and choose the best therapeutic option. Given the accuracy of modern non-invasive techniques (i.e., bone scintigraphy), early diagnosis of CA is possible. Flow-charts with the main CA findings which may help clinicians in the diagnostic process have been proposed. The prognostic impact of the combination of AS and CA is not fully known; however, new available specific treatments of ATTR-CA have changed the natural history of the disease and have some impact on the decision-making process for the management of AS. Hence the relevance of detecting these two conditions when simultaneously present. The specific features helping the detection of AS-CA association are discussed in this review, focusing on the shared pathophysiological characteristics and the common clinical and imaging hallmarks.
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- Faggiano, Pompilio, et al.
(författare)
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Cardiac calcification as a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis and predictor of cardiovascular events : A review of the evidence
- 2019
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Ingår i: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. - : Sage Publications. - 2047-4873 .- 2047-4881. ; 26:11, s. 1191-1204
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Risk prediction of future atherothrombotic cardiovascular events is currently based on conventional risk factor assessment and the use of validated algorithms, such as the Framingham Risk Score, the Pooled Cohort Equations, and the European SCORE Risk Charts. However, the identification of subclinical organ damage has emerged as a potentially more accurate predictor of individual risk. Several imaging modalities have been proposed for identification of preclinical atherosclerosis. Coronary artery calcification scanning performed using cardiac computed tomography and calculation of the Agatston score is the most commonly used technique in clinical practice for detection of subclinical disease, prognostic stratification of asymptomatic individuals and implementation of preventive strategies. Furthermore, conventional echocardiographic examination may offer an assessment of cardiac calcifications at different sites, such as the mitral apparatus (including annulus, leaflets and papillary muscles), aortic valve and ascending aorta, that are associated with the clinical manifestation of atherosclerotic disease and are predictive of future cardiovascular events. The aim of this paper is to summarize available evidence on the clinical use of cardiac calcification, review the pathogenetic mechanisms involved, including similarities with atherosclerosis, and evaluate its potential for risk stratification and prevention of clinical events in the primary prevention setting.
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- Henein, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Heart valve calcification
- 2022. - 1
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Ingår i: Cardiovascular calcification. - Cham : Springer. - 9783030815158 - 9783030815141 ; , s. 33-44
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This chapter focuses on the calcification of heart valves. The extent of valve calcification may vary from mild sclerosis with no effects on valve function to the development of leaflets calcification which causes valve dysfunction. It is well known that valve calcification is associated with conventional atherosclerosis risk factors. The valve calcification process can be classified into 2 phases: an early initiation phase dominated by valve tissue injury, lipid deposition, and inflammation, with many similarities to atherosclerosis and a later propagation phase where pro-calcific and pro-osteogenic factors drive disease progression. The best method for assessing the extent of valve calcification is cardiac CT applying the Agatston score which is used for assessing the coronary artery calcification. Echocardiography could assess valve calcification but in a semiquantitative way. Although observational studies showed a potential beneficial effect of statins on aortic stenosis severity, further randomised controlled trials and a meta analysis have failed to confirm these results. Recognition of valve calcification is clinically important as it has a strong predictive value of future clinical events.
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| 8. |
- Ibrahimi, Pranvera, 1986-
(författare)
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Patterns of non-invasive imaging of carotid atherosclerosis
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease that can be generalized, affecting more than one arterial bed simultaneously, or localized, manifested in one system. Ultrasound based measurements of plaque textural features, such as low grey scale median (GSM), echolucent (hypoechoic) plaque types and juxtaluminal black (hypoechoic) area (JBA) are manifestation of potentially unstable lesions. Conventional carotid IMT (intima media thickness) and the recently introduced IM-GSM (echogenicity of the intima media complex) are important measures of subclinical atherosclerosis and are used to predict future ischemic events.The aims of this thesis were to study, in detail, the systemic nature of atherosclerosis by evaluating the carotid disease burden contralateral to symptomatic arteries, determining the relationship between proximal (subclinical atherosclerosis) and distal segments (well established disease) of the same artery and comparing local plaque features with systemic burden of atherosclerosis disease. In addition, the effect of statins on carotid plaque echogenicity was evaluated in a systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods:We have measured ultrasound-based textural carotid plaque features (GSM, JBA, entropy, coarseness), surface morphology, as well as IMT and IM-GSM. An in-house custom developed research software package was used for plaque feature extraction. For the meta-analysis we used Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3 software.Results:Study 1. In 39 patients, the carotid plaques contralateral to symptomatic arteries had similar morphological and textural features to those in the symptomatic arteries and are more vulnerable than those in asymptomatic arteries; more often mildly or markedly irregular with more vulnerable textural plaque features (lower GSM and larger JBA).Study 2. In 87 asymptomatic patients, an increased IMT in CCA correlated with plaque irregularities in the bifurcation and ICA while IM-GSM was closely related to plaque echogenicity (GSM), and other textural plaque features.Study 3. In the same cohort in study 2, patients with previous disease in the coronary arteries had higher IMT and lower IM-GSM and those with prior stroke had lower IM-GSM. Neither IMT nor IM-GSM was different between patients with and without previous lower extremity disease. IM-GSM decreases significantly with increasing number of arterial territories p<0.001 (asymptomatic vs symptoms in one vs multiple arterial systems) but conventional IMT was not different between groups p=0.49.Study 4. In a meta-analysis of 9/580 identified studies including 566 patients with 7.2 months follow-up, a consistent increase in the carotid plaques echogenicity after statin therapy, was reported. The perpetual (over 12 months) effects of which were shown in a meta-regression analysis to be related to changes in hsCRP.Conclusion: Symptomatic patients have similar plaque morphology and textural features of vulnerability in the contralateral carotid system, compared with asymptomatic ones. In the latter, measurements of proximal disease reflect distal pathology and the number of affected arteries. Finally, statin therapy and the drop of LDL cholesterol result in better plaque stability and optimum control of arterial inflammation, shown by arterial wall echogenicity and hsCRP changes, respectively.
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| 9. |
- Semb, Anne Grete, et al.
(författare)
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Diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk management in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: An international audit
- 2021
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Ingår i: RMD Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2056-5933. ; 7:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: The objective was to examine the prevalence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and its risk factors among patients with RA with diabetes mellitus (RA-DM) and patients with RA without diabetes mellitus (RAwoDM), and to evaluate lipid and blood pressure (BP) goal attainment in RA-DM and RAwoDM in primary and secondary prevention.Methods: The cohort was derived from the Survey of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis from 53 centres/19 countries/3 continents during 2014-2019. We evaluated the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among RA-DM and RAwoDM. The study population was divided into those with and without ASCVD, and within these groups we compared risk factors and CVD preventive treatment between RA-DM and RAwoDM.Results: The study population comprised of 10 543 patients with RA, of whom 1381 (13%) had DM. ASCVD was present in 26.7% in RA-DM compared with 11.6% RAwoDM (p<0.001). The proportion of patients with a diagnosis of hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and use of lipid-lowering or antihypertensive agents was higher among RA-DM than RAwoDM (p<0.001 for all). The majority of patients with ASCVD did not reach the lipid goal of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol <1.8 mmol/L. The lipid goal attainment was statistically and clinically significantly higher in RA-DM compared with RAwoDM both for patients with and without ASCVD. The systolic BP target of <140 mm Hg was reached by the majority of patients, and there were no statistically nor clinically significant differences in attainment of BP targets between RA-DM and RAwoDM.Conclusion: CVD preventive medication use and prevalence of ASCVD were higher in RA-DM than in RAwoDM, and lipid goals were also more frequently obtained in RA-DM. Lessons may be learnt from CVD prevention programmes in DM to clinically benefit patients with RA.
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