Pulmonary function and atherosclerosis in the general population: causal associations and clinical implications.

Reduced lung function is associated with cardiovascular mortality, but the relationships with atherosclerosis are unclear. The population-based Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage study measured lung function, emphysema, coronary CT angiography, coronary calcium, carotid plaques and ankle-brachial index in 29,593 men and women aged 50-64 years. The results were confirmed using 2-sample Mendelian randomization. Lower lung function and emphysema were associated with more atherosclerosis, but these relationships were attenuated after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. Lung function was not associated with coronary atherosclerosis in 14,524 never-smokers. No potentially causal effect of lung function on atherosclerosis, or vice versa, was found in the 2-sample Mendelian randomization analysis. Here we show that reduced lung function and atherosclerosis are correlated in the population, but probably not causally related. Assessing lung function in addition to conventional cardiovascular risk factors to gauge risk of subclinical atherosclerosis is probably not meaningful, but low lung function found by chance should alert for atherosclerosis.

Prevalence of atherosclerosis in individuals with prediabetes and diabetes compared to normoglycaemic individuals-a Swedish population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of death and cardiovascular events and people with diabetes or prediabetes have been found to have increased atherosclerotic burden in the coronary and carotid arteries. This study will estimate the cross-sectional prevalence of atherosclerosis in the coronary and carotid arteries in individuals with prediabetes and diabetes, compared with normoglycaemic individuals in a large population-based cohort. METHODS: The 30,154 study participants, 50-64 years, were categorized according to their fasting glycaemic status or self-reported data as normoglycaemic, prediabetes, and previously undetected or known diabetes. Prevalence of affected coronary artery segments, severity of stenosis and coronary artery calcium score (CACS) were determined by coronary computed tomography angiography. Total atherosclerotic burden was assessed in the 11 clinically most relevant segments using the Segment Involvement Score and as the presence of any coronary atherosclerosis. The presence of atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid arteries was determined by ultrasound examination. RESULTS: Study participants with prediabetes (n = 4804, 16.0%) or diabetes (n = 2282, 7.6%) had greater coronary artery plaque burden, more coronary stenosis and higher CACS than normoglycaemic participants (all, p < 0.01). Among male participants with diabetes 35.3% had CACS ≥ 100 compared to 16.1% among normoglycaemic participants. For women, the corresponding figures were 8.9% vs 6.1%. The prevalence of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries was higher in participants with previously undetected diabetes than prediabetes, but lower than in patients with known diabetes. The prevalence of any plaque in the carotid arteries was higher in participants with prediabetes or diabetes than in normoglycaemic participants. CONCLUSIONS: In this large population-based cohort of currently asymptomatic people, the atherosclerotic burden in the coronary and carotid arteries increased with increasing degree of dysglycaemia. The finding that the atherosclerotic burden in the coronary arteries in the undetected diabetes category was midway between the prediabetes category and patients with known diabetes may have implications for screening strategies and tailored prevention interventions for people with dysglycaemia in the future.

Prevalence of Subclinical Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis in the General Population.

BACKGROUND: Early detection of coronary atherosclerosis using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), in addition to coronary artery calcification (CAC) scoring, may help inform prevention strategies. We used CCTA to determine the prevalence, severity, and characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis and its association with CAC scores in a general population. METHODS: We recruited 30 154 randomly invited individuals age 50 to 64 years to SCAPIS (the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study). The study includes individuals without known coronary heart disease (ie, no previous myocardial infarctions or cardiac procedures) and with high-quality results from CCTA and CAC imaging performed using dedicated dual-source CT scanners. Noncontrast images were scored for CAC. CCTA images were visually read and scored for coronary atherosclerosis per segment (defined as no atherosclerosis, 1% to 49% stenosis, or ≥50% stenosis). External validity of prevalence estimates was evaluated using inverse probability for participation weighting and Swedish register data. RESULTS: In total, 25 182 individuals without known coronary heart disease were included (50.6% women). Any CCTA-detected atherosclerosis was found in 42.1%; any significant stenosis (≥50%) in 5.2%; left main, proximal left anterior descending artery, or 3-vessel disease in 1.9%; and any noncalcified plaques in 8.3% of this population. Onset of atherosclerosis was delayed on average by 10 years in women. Atherosclerosis was more prevalent in older individuals and predominantly found in the proximal left anterior descending artery. Prevalence of CCTA-detected atherosclerosis increased with increasing CAC scores. Among those with a CAC score >400, all had atherosclerosis and 45.7% had significant stenosis. In those with 0 CAC, 5.5% had atherosclerosis and 0.4% had significant stenosis. In participants with 0 CAC and intermediate 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease according to the pooled cohort equation, 9.2% had CCTA-verified atherosclerosis. Prevalence estimates had excellent external validity and changed marginally when adjusted to the age-matched Swedish background population. CONCLUSIONS: Using CCTA in a large, random sample of the general population without established disease, we showed that silent coronary atherosclerosis is common in this population. High CAC scores convey a significant probability of substantial stenosis, and 0 CAC does not exclude atherosclerosis, particularly in those at higher baseline risk.

Leaflet thickening and stent geometry in sutureless bioprosthetic aortic valves.

Underexpansion of transcatheter heart valves and the surgically implanted Perceval sutureless aortic valve bioprosthesis has been suggested as an underlying mechanism for hypo-attenuated leaflet thickening (HALT). This was a single-center prospective observational study that included 47 patients who underwent surgical aortic valve replacement with the Perceval sutureless bioprosthesis (LivaNova, London, United Kingdom) from 2012 to 2016 and were studied by four-dimensional cardiac computed tomography (CT). The association between overall and regional expansion and the prevalence of HALT was analyzed. In total 46 patients were included in the analysis. HALT was found in 39.1% of patients and the mean overall prosthesis expansion was 75.5 ± 5.2% (range 64.6-84.8%). Overall expansion did not differ between patients with HALT compared with patients without HALT (mean overall expansion 74.0 ± 5.2% vs. 76.5 ± 5.0%, P = 0.11). The prevalence of HALT was lower in patients with overall expansion > 80% compared to patients with expansion < 80% expansion though not significantly (20% vs. 44.4%, P = 0.16). None or trivial regional underexpansion was found in 94.7% of coronary cusps. There was no significant association between regional underexpansion and the prevalence of HALT (mean coronary cusp angle 120 ± 8° vs. 119 ± 10°, P = 0.53). The prevalence of HALT and overall underexpansion was high in the Perceval sutureless bioprosthetic valve. Overall underexpansion was not associated with HALT. Whether severe overall underexpansion increases the risk for HALT requires further study. Regional underexpansion was uncommon in the Perceval sutureless bioprosthetic valve and not associated with HALT.Clinical trial registration Unique identifier: NCT03753126 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).

Causes of non-malarial febrile illness in outpatients in Tanzania.

OBJECTIVE: In sub-Saharan Africa, the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDT) has raised awareness of alternative fever causes in children but few studies have included adults. To address this gap, we conducted a study of mRDT-negative fever aetiologies among children and adults in Tanzania. METHODS: A total of 1028 patients aged 3 months to 50 years with a febrile illness and negative mRDT were enrolled from a Tanzanian hospital outpatient department. All had a physical examination and cultures from blood, nasopharynx/throat and urine. Patients were followed on Days 7 and 14 and children meeting WHO criteria for pneumonia were followed on Day 2 with chest radiology. RESULTS: Respiratory symptoms were the most frequent presenting complaint, reported by 20.3% of adults and 64.0% (339/530) of children. Of 38 X-rayed children meeting WHO pneumonia criteria, 47.4% had a normal X-ray. Overall, only 1.3% of 1028 blood cultures were positive. Salmonella typhi was the most prevalent pathogen isolated (7/13, 53.8%) and S. typhi patients reported fever for a median of 7 days (range 2-14). Children with bacteraemia did not present with WHO symptoms requiring antibiotic treatment. Young children and adults had similar prevalences of positive urine cultures (24/428 and 29/498, respectively). CONCLUSION: Few outpatient fevers are caused by blood stream bacterial infection, and most adult bacteraemia would be identified by current clinical guidelines although paediatric bacteraemia may be more difficult to diagnose. While pneumonia may be overdiagnosed, urinary tract infection was relatively common. Our results emphasise the difficulty in identifying African children in need of antibiotics among the majority who do not.

Decreased invasive fungal disease but no impact on overall survival by posaconazole compared to fluconazole prophylaxis: a retrospective cohort study in patients receiving induction therapy for acute myeloid leukaemia/myelodysplastic syndromes.

OBJECTIVE: Posaconazole prophylaxis during induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) has been shown to significantly decrease the incidence of invasive fungal disease (IFD) and increase overall survival in a trial setting, but only small real-life studies have been published. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study including consecutive patients with AML/MDS treated with intensive induction chemotherapy; 176 patients received fluconazole prophylaxis 2008-2011 and 107 patients received posaconazole prophylaxis 2011-2013. Only proven and probable IFD according to the revised EORTC/MSG criteria were included in the analysis. RESULTS: The two cohorts were well matched without significant differences in patient characteristics. At day 100, patients receiving posaconazole had a significantly lower incidence of total IFD (0.9% vs. 10.8%, P < 0.01), invasive aspergillosis (0% vs. 5.7%, P = 0.02) and invasive candidiasis (0% vs. 4.0%, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in overall survival, neither at day 100 (87% in the posaconazole group vs. 85% in the fluconazole group) nor at end of follow-up (78% vs. 77%). CONCLUSIONS: Posaconazole prophylaxis decreased the incidence of IFD but did not improve short-term overall survival. Improved treatment efficacy of manifest IFD is likely to explain the lack of survival benefit.

The effect of arm positioning on timing and enhancement of intravenous contrast media at coronary computed tomography angiography.

BACKGROUND: Adequate intravenous contrast media (CM) enhancement is crucial for evaluation of the coronary arteries. PURPOSE: To compare the timing and enhancement of intravenous CM at coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) when positioning the arms in the traditional superior direction with that of positioning them in the ventral direction during the CM injection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred patients were randomized into two groups. Group A (n = 50) had their arms positioned in the superior direction, resting on a head and arm support. Group B (n = 50) held their arms resting on the front panel of the computer tomography (CT) scanner. Scanning delay time was defined by test bolus technique. A total of 60 mL iodixanol, 320 mg/mL, was followed by a 50 mL saline flush at 6 mL/s. Cardiac output (CO) and heart rate (HR) were obtained before scanning. The attenuation was calculated by placing regions of interest (ROI) in ascending aorta, left atrium, and inferior vena cava. RESULTS: More patients in group A compared with group B (26 versus 14) showed a higher attenuation of the left atrium in comparison to the ascending aorta (P < 0.05). Body weight (BW) and CO were significantly related to the attenuation of ascending aorta (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: By placing the arms in a ventral, instead of superior position the frequency of too early imaging at CCTA can be reduced.

Neither endothelial function nor carotid artery intima-media thickness predicts coronary computed tomography angiography plaque burden in clinically healthy subjects: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular risk assessment is usually based on traditional risk factors and risk assessment algorithms. However, a number of risk markers that might provide additional predictive power have been identified. Endothelial function determined by digital reactive hyperemia peripheral arterial tonometry (RH-PAT) and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) have both been proposed as surrogate markers for coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to examine the ability of RH-PAT and IMT to predict coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) plaque burden in clinically healthy subjects. METHODS: Fifty-eight clinically healthy volunteers (50-73 years old) underwent testing for RH-PAT and IMT as well as coronary CTA, including coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring. Coronary CTA was analyzed with respect to any atheromatous plaques, stenotic as well as non-stenotic. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the groups with and without CAD and the Spearman test was used to test for correlation between variables. RESULTS: Twenty-five (43 %) subjects had normal coronary arteries, without any signs of atherosclerosis. The median (range) number of diseased segments was 1 (0-10), RH-PAT index 2.2 (1.4-4.9), IMT 0.70 (0.49-0.99) mm and CAC 4 (0-1882). There was no association between presence or extent of CAD and RH-PAT index (Spearman correlation coefficient rs = 0.13) or IMT (rs = 0.098). As expected, CAC was strongly correlated to presence and extent of CAD by coronary CTA (rs =0.86; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Neither evaluation of endothelial function by RH-PAT nor assessment of carotid artery IMT can reliably be used to predict coronary CTA plaque burden in clinically healthy subjects.

Visualization of dialysis fistula by computed tomography using time-resolved 3D volume rendering.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the function of arteriovenous (AV) dialysis fistula using dynamic computed tomography (CT) and time-resolved 3-dimensional (3D) volume rendering (VR). METHODS: Seven patients referred for angiographic CT examination of the AV dialysis fistula were enrolled. Twenty-four grams of iodine were administered intravenously (iomeprol 400 mg I/mL at 6 mL/sec) followed by a 50-mL saline flush. Dynamic scanning was performed for 15-24 sec. CT images were then postprocessed on a dedicated workstation creating time-resolved 3D VR images and movies. RESULTS: All studies showed good image quality showing pathology in 6 of 7 patients. Unexpected findings were observed in 1 patient, aneurysm (n = 1). Radiation dose was 5 mSv. CONCLUSIONS: The function of AV dialysis fistula can be visualized using dynamic CT and time-resolved 3D VR.

Cardiac involvement in Caucasian patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is a potentially life-threatening condition. At present, there is no consensus with regard to the optimal non-invasive clinical evaluation and diagnostic procedures of cardiac involvement in patients with sarcoidosis. The aim of this study in a large homogenous Scandinavian sarcoidosis cohort was therefore to identify risk factors of cardiac involvement in patients with sarcoidosis, and the value of initial routine investigation with ECG and cardiac related symptoms in screening for CS. METHODS: In this retrospective study a cohort of 1017 Caucasian patients with sarcoidosis were included. They were all screened with ECG at disease onset and investigated for CS according to clinical routine. RESULTS: An abnormal ECG was recorded in 166 (16.3%) of the 1017 patients and CS was later diagnosed in 22 (13.2%) of them, compared to in one (0.1%) of the 851 sarcoidosis patients with a normal ECG (p < 0.0001). The risk for CS was higher in patients with a pathologic ECG combined with cardiac related symptoms (11/40) (27.5%) compared to those with pathologic ECG changes without symptoms (11/126) (8.7%) (p < 0.01). Furthermore, patients with Löfgren's syndrome had a reduced risk for CS compared to those without (p < 0.05) the syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: This study on an unusually large and homogenous sarcoidosis population demonstrate the importance of an abnormal ECG and cardiac related symptoms at disease onset as powerful predictors of a later diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis. In contrast, CS is very rare in subjects without symptoms and with a normal ECG. This knowledge is of importance, and may be used in a clinical algorithm, in identifying patients that should be followed and investigated extensively for the presence of CS.

Automatic individualized contrast medium dosage during hepatic computed tomography by using computed tomography dose index volume (CTDI(vol)).

PURPOSE: To compare hepatic parenchymal contrast media (CM) enhancement during multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) and its correlation with volume pitch-corrected computed tomography dose index CTDI(vol)) and body weight (BW). MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred patients referred for standard three-phase thoraco-abdominal MDCT examination were enrolled. BW was measured in the CT suite. Forty grams of iodine was administered intravenously (iodixanol 320 mg I/ml at 5 ml/s or iomeprol 400 mg I/ml at 4 ml/s) followed by a 50-ml saline flush. CTDI(vol) presented by the CT equipment during the parenchymal examination was recorded. The CM enhancement of the liver was defined as the attenuation HU of the liver parenchyma during the hepatic parenchymal phase minus the attenuation in the native phase. RESULTS: Liver parenchymal enhancement was negatively correlated to both CTDI(vol) (r = -0.60) and BW (r = -0.64), but the difference in correlation between those two was not significant. CONCLUSION: CTDI(vol) may replace BW when adjusting CM doses to body size. This makes it potentially feasible to automatically individualize CM dosage by CT. KEY POINTS: • CTDI vol is related to liver CM enhancement in the parenchymal phase. • CTDI vol provides comparable information to body weight (BW). • CTDI vol may be used when automatically adjusting CM dose for patient size.

Health-related quality-of-life up to one year after myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries.

AIMS: Patients with Myocardial Infarction with Non-Obstructive Coronary Arteries (MINOCA) are a heterogenous group and previous studies indicate a decreased Health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) compared with patients with myocardial infarction with obstructive coronary artery disease and healthy individuals. However, longitudinal data are scarce. Therefore, the aim was to explore HRQoL among patients with MINOCA during a one-year period after the acute event in comparison with a group of healthy individuals and to describe HRQoL in patients with Takotsubo Syndrome (TTS). METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with MINOCA were recruited from five hospitals in the Stockholm region (SMINC-2 study, clinical trials: NCT2318498). Patients responded to the HRQoL questionnaire RAND-36 between days 2-4, after 6 and 12 months respectively. A sample of population-based individuals was used as a comparison group. A total of 142 MINOCA patients, (70% women) mean age of 56 years, responded. A population-based sample of 317 volunteers (66% women) mean age of 57 years. Patients with MINOCA scored lower than the comparison group in the domains role functioning physical, social functioning, and role functioning emotional (P = 0.01-0.02) at 12 months. In these domains of HRQoL there was no improvement in MINOCA patients during 12 months follow-up. In the domains of energy/fatigue vitality and emotional well-being the scores improved and were similar to the comparison group at 12 months. Patients with TTS scored generally lower on RAND-36 than MINOCA patients without TTS. CONCLUSION: Physical, social, and emotional functioning did not improve during the first year after MINOCA, indicating a need for increased follow-up including psychological support.

High-quality annotations for deep learning enabled plaque analysis in SCAPIS cardiac computed tomography angiography.

Background: Plaque analysis with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a promising tool to identify high risk of future coronary events. The analysis process is time-consuming, and requires highly trained readers. Deep learning models have proved to excel at similar tasks, however, training these models requires large sets of expert-annotated training data. The aims of this study were to generate a large, high-quality annotated CCTA dataset derived from Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage Study (SCAPIS), report the reproducibility of the annotation core lab and describe the plaque characteristics and their association with established risk factors. Methods and results: The coronary artery tree was manually segmented using semi-automatic software by four primary and one senior secondary reader. A randomly selected sample of 469 subjects, all with coronary plaques and stratified for cardiovascular risk using the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), were analyzed. The reproducibility study (n = 78) showed an agreement for plaque detection of 0.91 (0.84-0.97). The mean percentage difference for plaque volumes was -0.6% the mean absolute percentage difference 19.4% (CV 13.7%, ICC 0.94). There was a positive correlation between SCORE and total plaque volume (rho = 0.30, p < 0.001) and total low attenuation plaque volume (rho = 0.29, p < 0.001). Conclusions: We have generated a CCTA dataset with high-quality plaque annotations showing good reproducibility and an expected correlation between plaque features and cardiovascular risk. The stratified data sampling has enriched high-risk plaques making the data well suited as training, validation and test data for a fully automatic analysis tool based on deep learning.

Body weight at age 20 and in midlife is more important than weight gain for coronary atherosclerosis: Results from SCAPIS.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Elevated body weight in adolescence is associated with early cardiovascular disease, but whether this association is traceable to weight in early adulthood, weight in midlife or to weight gain is not known. The aim of this study is to assess the risk of midlife coronary atherosclerosis being associated with body weight at age 20, body weight in midlife and body weight change. METHODS: We used data from 25,181 participants with no previous myocardial infarction or cardiac procedure in the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS, mean age 57 years, 51% women). Data on coronary atherosclerosis, self-reported body weight at age 20 and measured midlife weight were recorded together with potential confounders and mediators. Coronary atherosclerosis was assessed using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and expressed as segment involvement score (SIS). RESULTS: The probability of having coronary atherosclerosis was markedly higher with increasing weight at age 20 and with mid-life weight (p < 0.001 for both sexes). However, weight increase from age 20 until mid-life was only modestly associated with coronary atherosclerosis. The association between weight gain and coronary atherosclerosis was mainly seen in men. However, no significant sex difference could be detected when adjusting for the 10-year delay in disease development in women. CONCLUSIONS: Similar in men and women, weight at age 20 and weight in midlife are strongly related to coronary atherosclerosis while weight increase from age 20 until midlife is only modestly related to coronary atherosclerosis.

High prevalence of interstitial lung abnormalities in middle-aged never-smokers.

Background: Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) are incidental findings on chest computed tomography (CT). These patterns can present at an early stage of fibrotic lung disease. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of ILA in the Swedish population, in particular in never-smokers, and find out its association with demographics, comorbidities and symptoms. Methods: Participants were recruited to the Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage Study (SCAPIS), a population-based survey including men and women aged 50-64 years performed at six university hospitals in Sweden. CT scan, spirometry and questionnaires were performed. ILA were defined as cysts, ground-glass opacities, reticular abnormality, bronchiectasis and honeycombing. Findings: Out of 29 521 participants, 14 487 were never-smokers and 14 380 were men. In the whole population, 2870 (9.7%) had ILA of which 134 (0.5%) were fibrotic. In never-smokers, the prevalence was 7.9% of which 0.3% were fibrotic. In the whole population, age, smoking history, chronic bronchitis, cancer, coronary artery calcium score and high-sensitive C-reactive protein were associated with ILA. Both ILA and fibrotic ILA were associated with restrictive spirometric pattern and impaired diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide. However, individuals with ILA did not report more symptoms compared with individuals without ILA. Interpretation: ILA are common in a middle-aged Swedish population including never-smokers. ILA may be at risk of being underdiagnosed among never-smokers since they are not a target for screening.

Hepatic contrast medium enhancement at computed tomography and its correlation with various body size measures.

BACKGROUND: When the same dose of iodine is given to all patients when performing abdominal computed tomography (CT) there may be a wide inter-individual variation in contrast medium (CM) enhancement of the liver. PURPOSE: To evaluate if any of the measures body height (BH), body mass index (BMI), lean body mass (LBM), ideal body weight (IBW), and body surface area (BSA) correlated better than body weight (BW) with hepatic enhancement, and to compare the enhancement when using iodixanol and iomeprol. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred patients referred for standard three-phase CT examination of abdomen were enrolled. Body weight and height were measured at the time of the CT examination. Forty grams of iodine (iodixanol 320 mg I/mL or iomeprol 400 mg I/mL) was injected at a rate of 1.6 g-I/s, followed by a 50 mL saline flush. The late arterial phase was determined by using a semi-automatic smart prep technique with a scan delay of 20 s. The hepatic parenchymal phase started automatically 25 s after the late arterial phase. CM concentration was estimated by placement of regions of interest in aorta (native and late arterial phase) and in liver (native and parenchymal phase). RESULTS: BW (r = -0.51 and -0.64), LBM (r = -0.54 and -0.59), and BSA (r = -0.54 and -0.65) showed the best correlation coefficients with aortic and hepatic parenchymal enhancement, respectively, without any significant differences between the measures. Comparing iodixanol and iomeprol there was no significant difference in aortic enhancement. The liver enhancement was significantly higher (P < 0.05) using iodixanol than iomeprol. CONCLUSION: To achieve a consistent hepatic enhancement, CM dose may simply be adjusted to body weight instead of using more complicated calculated parameters based on both weight and height.

Early Comprehensive Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Myocardial Infarction With Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the SMINC-2 (Stockholm Myocardial Infarction With Normal Coronaries 2) study was to determine if more than 70% of patients with myocardial infarction with nonobstructed coronary arteries (MINOCA), investigated early with comprehensive cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), could receive a diagnosis entirely by imaging. BACKGROUND: The etiology of MINOCA is heterogeneous, including coronary, cardiac, and noncardiac causes. Patients with MINOCA, therefore, represent a diagnostic challenge where CMR is increasingly used. METHODS: The SMINC-2 study was a prospective study of 148 patients with MINOCA imaged with 1.5-T CMR with T1 and extracellular volume mapping early after hospital admission, compared to 150 patients with MINOCA imaged using 1.5-T CMR without mapping techniques from the SMINC-1 study as historic controls. RESULTS: CMR was performed at a median of 3 (SMINC-2) versus 12 (SMINC-1) days after hospital admission. In total, 77% of patients received a diagnosis with CMR imaging in the SMINC-2 study compared to 47% in the SMINC-1 study (p < 0.001). Compared to SMINC-1, CMR in SMINC-2 detected higher proportions of myocarditis (17% vs. 7%; p = 0.01) and takotsubo syndrome (35% vs. 19%; p = 0.002) but similar proportions of myocardial infarction (22% vs. 19%; p = 0.56) and other cardiomyopathies (3% vs. 2%; p = 0.46). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the SMINC-2 study show that 77% of all patients with MINOCA received a diagnosis when imaged early with CMR, including advanced tissue characterization, which was a considerable improvement in comparison to the SMINC-1 study. This supports the use of early CMR imaging as a diagnostic tool in the investigation of patients with MINOCA. (Stockholm Myocardial Infarction With Normal Coronaries [SMINC]-2 Study on Diagnosis Made by Cardiac MRI [SCMINC-2]; NCT02318498).

Plasma catecholamine levels in the acute and subacute stages of takotsubo syndrome: Results from the Stockholm myocardial infarction with normal coronaries 2 study.

AIMS: It is well-accepted that takotsubo syndrome (TS) is characterized by a massive surge of plasma catecholamines despite lack of solid evidence. The objective of this study was to examine the hypothesis of a massive catecholamine elevation in TS by studying plasma-free catecholamine metabolites in patients participating in the Stockholm myocardial infarction (MI) with normal coronaries 2 (SMINC-2) study where TS constituted more than one third of the patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: The patients included in the SMINC-2 study were classified, according to cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging findings (148 patients), which was performed at a median of 3 days after hospital admission. Plasma-free catecholamine metabolites; metanephrine, normetanephrine, and methoxy-tyramine were measured on day 2-4 after admission. Catecholamine metabolite levels were available in 125 patients. One hundred and ten (88%) of the 125 patients included in SMINC-2 study, and 38 (86.4%) of the 44 patients with TS had completely normal plasma metanephrine and normetanephrine levels. All patients had normal plasma methoxy-tyramine levels. Fourteen (11.2%) of the 125 patients included in SMINC-2 study, and 5 (11.6%) of the 43 patients with TS had mild elevations (approximately 1.2 times the upper normal limits) of either plasma metanephrine or normetanephrine. One patient with pheochromocytoma-triggered TS had marked elevation of plasma metanephrine and mild elevation of plasma normetanephrine. There were no significant differences between the number or degree of catecholamine metabolite elevations between the different groups of patients with CMR imaging diagnosis included in SMINC-2 study. CONCLUSION: There was no evidence of massive catecholamine elevations in the acute and subacute stages of TS apart from one patient with pheochromocytoma-induced TS. Most of the TS patients had normal catecholamine metabolites indicating that blood-borne catecholamines do not play a direct role in the pathogenesis of TS.

Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation estimated risk and prevalent subclinical atherosclerosis in coronary and carotid arteries: A population-based cohort analysis from the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study.

BACKGROUND: It is not clear if the European Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation algorithm is useful for identifying prevalent subclinical atherosclerosis in a population of apparently healthy individuals. Our aim was to explore the association between the risk estimates from Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation and prevalent subclinical atherosclerosis. DESIGN: The design of this study was as a cross-sectional analysis from a population-based study cohort. METHODS: From the general population, the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study randomly invited individuals aged 50-64 years and enrolled 13,411 participants mean age 57 (standard deviation 4.3) years; 46% males between November 2013-December 2016. Associations between Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation risk estimates and coronary artery calcification and plaques in the carotid arteries by using imaging data from a computed tomography of the heart and ultrasonography of the carotid arteries were examined. RESULTS: Coronary calcification was present in 39.5% and carotid plaque in 56.0%. In men, coronary artery calcium score >0 ranged from 40.7-65.9% and presence of carotid plaques from 54.5% to 72.8% in the age group 50-54 and 60-65 years, respectively. In women, the corresponding difference was from 17.1-38.9% and from 41.0-58.4%. A doubling of Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation was associated with an increased probability to have coronary artery calcium score >0 (odds ratio: 2.18 (95% confidence interval 2.07-2.30)) and to have >1 carotid plaques (1.67 (1.61-1.74)). CONCLUSION: Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation estimated risk is associated with prevalent subclinical atherosclerosis in two major vascular beds in a general population sample without established cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus. Thus, the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation risk chart may be of use for estimating the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis.