Median effective radiation dose for the computed tomographic angiography (CTA) was 0.6 mSv. The median DLP was 13 mGycm and median CTDIvol was 3.5 mGy. Cardiac CT can be done with a sub-mSv dose in infants. Cardiac CT completes the standard initial evaluation of neonates and infants with complex CHD, allowing thorough understanding of complex spatial relationships between anatomical and defective structures, and is achievable with minimal radiation exposure.The aim of this study is to identify the best predictors of mortality among clinical, biochemical and advanced echocardiographic parameters in acute heart failure (AHF) patients admitted to coronary care unit (CCU). AHF is a clinical condition characterized by high mortality and morbidity. Several studies have investigated the potential prognostic factors that could help the risk assessment of cardiovascular events in HF patients, but at the moment it has not been found a complete prognostic score (including clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic parameters), univocally used for AHF patients. Patients (n = 118) admitted to CCU due to AHF de novo or to an exacerbation of chronic heart failure were enrolled. For each patient, clinical and biochemical parameters were reported as well as the echocardiographic data, including speckle tracking echocardiography analysis. These indexes were then related to intra- and extrahospital mortality. At the end of the follow-up period, the study population was divided into two groups, defined as 'survivors' and 'non-survivors'. From statistical analysis, C-reactive protein (CRP) (AUC = 0.75), haemoglobin (AUC = 0.71), creatinine clearance (AUC = 0.74), left atrial strain (AUC = 0.73) and freewall right ventricular strain (AUC = 0.76) showed the strongest association with shortterm mortality and they represented the items of the proposed risk score, whose cut-off of 3 points is able to discriminate patients at higher risk of mortality. AHF represents one of the major challenges in CCU. The use of a combined biochemical and advanced echocardiographic score, assessed at admission, could help to better predict mortality risk, in addition to commonly used indexes.PCSK9 inhibitors lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and reduce cardiovascular events. The clinical benefits presumably result from favorable effects on atherosclerotic plaques. Lipid-core and plaque inflammation have been recognized as main determinants of risk for plaque rupture and cardiovascular events. Both can be noninvasively assessed with carotid MRI. We studied if PCSK9 inhibition with alirocumab induces regression in lipid-core or plaque inflammation within 6 months as measured by MRI. Patients with non-calcified carotid plaque(s) and baseline LDL-C ≥ 70 mg/dl, who were statin-intolerant or taking a low-dose statin (≤ 10 mg per day of atorvastatin or an equivalent), received subcutaneous alirocumab 150 mg every 2 weeks. Carotid MRI was performed at baseline and 6 months after treatment, including pre- and post-contrast images for measuring percent lipid-core volume (%LC) and dynamic contrast-enhanced images for measuring microvessel leakiness (Ktrans), a marker of inflammation. Twenty-eight patients completed the study (69 ± 9 years; 64% male). Alirocumab led to significant changes in LDL-C (p  less then  0.001) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (p = 0.003). At 6 months, there was a significant reduction in %LC (mean - 2.1% [- 3.5, - 0.7], p = 0.005; a 17% reduction from baseline of 9.9%) without significant changes in lumen/wall area or in the inflammatory index Ktrans. Carotid plaque lipid content was reduced by 17% after 6 months of PCSK9 inhibition with alirocumab. This was seen before observable changes in lumen or wall areas, which supports pursing plaque lipid content as a more sensitive marker of therapeutic response compared to lumen or wall areas in future technical developments and serial studies.Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and potentially increase the risk of embolic stroke and aggravate progressive heart failure in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Recent studies demonstrated that epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) was closely associated with AF in general population. However, the relationship between EAT and AF in HCM patients remains unclear. A total of 93 consecutive patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) at Fuwai Hospital were enrolled in our study. There were 18 patients with AF and 75 patients without it. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging was performed in all participants. EAT volume (EATV) and left atrial volume (LAV) were determined by E-3D medical model software. HOCM patients with AF had significantly greater EATV index (EATVI, P  less then  0.001), LAV index (LAVI, P  less then  0.001) and left ventricular end-systole volume index (LVESVI, P = 0.039), and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF, P = 0.002). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, EATVI, LAVI, and LVEF remained independent determinants of AF occurrence (OR = 1.023, 95% CI, 1.003-1.043, P = 0.023, OR = 1.043, 95% CI, 1.012-1.075, P = 0.006, and OR = 0.887, 95% CI, 0.818-0.962, P = 0.004, respectively). Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that integration of EATVI, LAVI and LVEF provided better discriminatory performance for incident AF in HOCM patients with a high sensitivity of 94.4% and a specificity of 69.3% (AUC = 0.864, 95% CI, 0.771-0.958, P  less then  0.001). EATVI is an independent predictor of the presence of AF, and integration of EATVI, LVEF and LAVI determined by CMR provide greater discriminatory performance for identifying AF in HOCM patients.To investigate whether 2D strain and 3D echocardiography could early identify the impaired right ventricular (RV) function after anthracycline exposure. Sixty-one patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with anthracycline were studied. Echocardiography was conducted at baseline, after the third cycle of the chemotherapy, after the completion of the chemotherapy, and follow-up at 10 months after the initiation of chemotherapy. RV global longitudinal strain (RV GLS) and RV free wall longitudinal strain (RV FWLS) were calculated using speckle tracking echocardiography. RV ejection fraction (RVEF) was analyzed by 3D echocardiography. RV systolic dysfunction was defined by ≥ 2 RV parameters below the threshold value, and cardiotoxicity was defined as a reduction in left ventricular EF > 10 to  less then  53%. Selleckchem HC-7366 After the third cycle of chemotherapy, only RV GLS was significantly decreased, while after the completion of the chemotherapy, RV GLS, RV FWLS, and RVEF were all significantly decreased compared with baseline measurements.