Cardiovascular imaging 2019 in the International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging

Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog

Race, Genes and Justice: A Call to Reform the Presentation of Forensic DNA Evidence in Criminal Trials

The article considers how and when, if at all, is it appropriate to use race in presenting forensic DNA evidence in a court of law? This relatively straightforward question has been wholly overlooked by legal scholars. By pursuing it, this article promises to transform fundamentally the presentation forensic DNA evidence. Currently, it is standard practice for prosecutors to use race in presenting the odds that a given defendant\u27s DNA matches DNA found at a crime scene. This article takes an interdisciplinary approach to question the validity of this widespread but largely uninterrogated practice. It examines how race came to enter the construction and presentation of forensic DNA evidence in the early 1990s and considers how its use has persisted and developed over time. It asks the basic question of what race adds as a practical matter to ability of the finder of fact to make fair and accurate decisions and weighs this against the potential dangers of bias created by introducing issues of race as genetic into the context of what is usually a violent crime. It considers how current technological advances have largely rendered the use of race irrelevant to the calculation of odds ratios necessary to establish a match between a DNA sample left at a crime scene and DNA from a suspect. It argues that in most cases such evidence should be excluded as irrelevant, or if deemed relevant it should be held inadmissible because the dangers of infecting the proceedings with racial prejudice outweigh any possible benefit that introducing the race-based statistics could provide. This is particularly the case where race is being introduced in a context that involves constructing a relationship between genetics and violent crime. The article concludes with a brief synthesis of the arguments for ending the practice of using race frame the presentation of forensic DNA evidence. It notes this would not materially hinder the ability of prosecutors to obtain convictions using DNA evidence, nor of defendants to challenge such evidence. Yet, by removing the gratuitous introduction of race into a context of genetics and violent crime, such reform would promote a positive and significant reorientation of the relation among race, genes, and justice

Cardiovascular imaging 2017 in the International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging

Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog

Cardiovascular imaging 2018 in the International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging

Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog

Cardiovascular imaging 2012 in the International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging

Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog

Prediction of atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure

Cardiac Dysfunction and Arrhythmia

Automated Assessment of the Aortic Root Dimensions With Multidetector Row Computed Tomography

Background. Accurate aortic root measurements and evaluation of spatial relationships with coronary ostia are crucial in preoperative transcatheter aortic valve implantation assessments. Standardization of measurements may increase intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility to promote procedural success rate and reduce the frequency of procedurally related complications. This study evaluated the accuracy and reproducibility of a novel automated multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) imaging postprocessing software, 3mensio Valves (version 4.1.sp1, Medical Imaging BV, Bilthoven, The Netherlands), in the assessment of patients with severe aortic stenosis candidates for transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Methods. Ninety patients with aortic valve disease were evaluated with 64-row and 320-row MDCT. Aortic valve annular size, aortic root dimensions, and height of the coronary ostia relative to the aortic valve annular plane were measured with the 3mensio Valves software. The measurements were compared with those obtained manually by the Vitrea2 software (Vital Images, Minneapolis, MN). Results. Assessment of aortic valve annulus and aortic root dimensions were feasible in all the patients using the automated 3mensio Valves software. There were excellent agreements with minimal bias between automated and manual MDCT measurements as demonstrated by Bland-Altman analysis and intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.97 to 0.99. The automated 3mensio Valves software had better interobserver reproducibility and required less image postprocessing time than manual assessment. Conclusions. Novel automated MDCT postprocessing imaging software (3mensio Valves) permits reliable, reproducible, and automated assessments of the aortic root dimensions and spatial relations with the surrounding structures. This has important clinical implications for preoperative assessments of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation. (Ann Thorac Surg 2011;91:716-23) (C) 2011 by The Society of Thoracic SurgeonsCardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog

Time course of global left ventricular strain after acute myocardial infarction

Aims The purpose of the present study was to assess the evolution of left ventricular (LV) function after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using global longitudinal peak systolic strain (GLPSS) during 1 year follow-up. In addition, patients were divided in groups with early, late, or no improvement of LV function and predictors of recovery of LV function were established. Methods and results A total of 341 patients with AMI were evaluated. Two-dimensional echocardiography was performed at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. At baseline, LV function was assessed with traditional parameters and GLPSS. Global longitudinal peak systolic strain was re-assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months. Improvement of LV function was based on GLPSS and was observed in 72% of the patients. No differences were observed between patients with early and late improvement. The left anterior descending coronary artery as culprit vessel, peak cardiac troponin T level, diastolic function, and baseline GLPSS were identified as independent predictors of recovery of LV function. Conclusion Improvement of LV systolic function occurred in the majority of patients during follow-up. Global longitudinal peak systolic strain, left anterior descending coronary artery as culprit vessel, peak cardiac troponin T level, and diastolic function were independent predictors of recovery of LV function. Quantification of GLPSS may be of important value for the prediction of recovery of LV function in patients after AMI.Cardiac Dysfunction and Arrhythmia

Predictive Value of Total Atrial Conduction Time Estimated With Tissue Doppler Imaging for the Development of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation After Acute Myocardial Infarction

Patients who develop new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) show an increased risk for adverse events and mortality during follow-up. Recently, a novel noninvasive echocardiographic method has been validated for the estimation of total atrial activation time using tissue Doppler imaging of the atria (PA-TDI duration). PA-TDI duration has shown to be independently predictive of new-onset AF. However, whether PA-TDI duration provides predictive value for new-onset AF in patients after AMI has not been evaluated. Consecutive patients admitted with AMIs and treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention underwent echocardiography = 1 year. During follow-up, 12-lead electrocardiography and Holter monitoring were performed regularly, and the development of new-onset AF was noted. Baseline echocardiography was performed to assess left ventricular and left atrial (LA) function. LA performance was quantified with LA volumes, function, and PA-TDI duration. A total of 613 patients were evaluated. LA maximal volume (hazard ratio 1.07, 95% confidence interval 1.04 to 1.11), the total LA ejection fraction (hazard ratio 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.93 to 0.99) and PA-TDI duration (hazard ratio 1.05, 95% confidence interval 1.04 to 1.06) were univariate predictors of new-onset AF. After multivariate analysis, LA maximal volume and PA-TDI duration independently predicted new-onset AF. Furthermore, PA-TDI duration provided incremental prognostic value to traditional clinical and echocardiographic parameters for the prediction of new-onset AF. In conclusion, PA-TDI duration is a simple measurement that provides important value for the prediction of new-onset AF in patients after AMI. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (Am J Cardiol 2010;106:198-203)Cardiac Dysfunction and Arrhythmia

LEFT VENTRICULAR DYSSYNCHRONY, LEFT VENTRICULAR LEAD POSITION AND MYOCARDIAL SCAR: LONG-TERM SURVIVAL PREDICTORS OF ISCHEMIC HEART FAILURE PATIENTS AFTER CARDIAC RESYNCHRONIZATION THERAPY

Cardiac Dysfunction and Arrhythmia