Risk factors prediction, clinical outcomes, and mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Preventing communicable diseases requires understanding the spread, epidemiology, clinical features, progression, and prognosis of the disease. Early identification of risk factors and clinical outcomes might help in identifying critically ill patients, providing appropriate treatment, and preventing mortality. We conducted a prospective study in patients with flu-like symptoms referred to the imaging department of a tertiary hospital in Iran between March 3, 2020, and April 8, 2020. Patients with COVID-19 were followed up after two months to check their health condition. The categorical data between groups were analyzed by Fisher's exact test and continuous data by Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Three hundred and nineteen patients (mean age 45.48 ± 18.50 years, 177 women) were enrolled. Fever, dyspnea, weakness, shivering, C-reactive protein, fatigue, dry cough, anorexia, anosmia, ageusia, dizziness, sweating, and age were the most important symptoms of COVID-19 infection. Traveling in the past 3 months, asthma, taking corticosteroids, liver disease, rheumatological disease, cough with sputum, eczema, conjunctivitis, tobacco use, and chest pain did not show any relationship with COVID-19. To the best of our knowledge, a number of factors associated with mortality due to COVID-19 have been investigated for the first time in this study. Our results might be helpful in early prediction and risk reduction of mortality in patients infected with COVID-19.

The correlation between cardiac magnetic resonance T2* and left ventricular global longitudinal strain in people with ß-thalassemia.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure is the biggest cause of mortality and morbidity in people with thalassemia, and iron deposition in cardiac tissue impairs cardiovascular function. Therefore, early detection of cardiac involvement is important to improve the prognosis in these individuals. METHOD: Two- and three-dimensional echocardiography was performed to evaluate left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular volumes and diameters, and global longitudinal strain (GLS) in 130 individuals with ß-thalassemia using the speckle tracking method. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was carried out on both the heart and liver. The participants were divided into 2 groups based on cardiac T2* values (normal and abnormal cardiac iron load), and the correlation between cardiac T2* MRI and GLS was evaluated. RESULTS: The statistical analysis showed a significant correlation between cardiac T2* MRI and left ventricular global longitudinal strain. There was a significant difference in global longitudinal strain (P < .0001), liver MRI T2*( P < .0001), and left ventricular ejection fraction (P < .001) between the 2 groups. The optimal cutoff value for GLS was -18.5% with sensitivity and specificity 73.0% and 63.0%, respectively (postitive predictive value = 50%, negative predictive value = 82.3%, AUC = 0.742, std. error = 0.046) which predicts T2* value of <20 ms, according to cardiac MRI. CONCLUSIONS: The participants with cardiac iron overload had a lower GLS than those without one. This suggests that GLS may be a useful method to predict myocardial iron overload particularly in ß-thalassemia patients with subclinical cardiac involvement.

Automatic computation of left ventricular volume changes over a cardiac cycle from echocardiography images by nonlinear dimensionality reduction.

Curve of left ventricular (LV) volume changes throughout the cardiac cycle is a fundamental parameter for clinical evaluation of various cardiovascular diseases. Currently, this evaluation is often performed manually which is tedious and time consuming and suffers from significant interobserver and intraobserver variability. This paper introduces a new automatic method, based on nonlinear dimensionality reduction (NLDR) for extracting the curve of the LV volume changes over a cardiac cycle from two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiography images. Isometric feature mapping (Isomap) is one of the most popular NLDR algorithms. In this study, a modified version of Isomap algorithm, where image to image distance metric is computed using nonrigid registration, is applied on 2-D echocardiography images of one cycle of heart. Using this approach, the nonlinear information of these images is embedded in a 2-D manifold and each image is characterized by a symbol on the constructed manifold. This new representation visualizes the relationship between these images based on LV volume changes and allows extracting the curve of the LV volume changes automatically. Our method in comparison to the traditional segmentation algorithms does not need any LV myocardial segmentation and tracking, particularly difficult in the echocardiography images. Moreover, a large data set under various diseases for training is not required. The results obtained by our method are quantitatively evaluated to those obtained manually by the highly experienced echocardiographer on ten healthy volunteers and six patients which depict the usefulness of the presented method.

Managing Myocardial Infarction in the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Case Report.

Coronaviruses can cause viral pneumonia with extrapulmonary manifestations and complications. Many patients have either underlying cardiovascular disease or cardiac risk factors. Acute heart attacks are also frequent in severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is associated with high mortality. In this paper, we describe a patient with COVID-19 who presented with myocardial infarction (MI) symptoms but lacked the initial symptoms of the infection such as fever and cough. COVID-19 and myocardial infarction were diagnosed. The patient underwent thrombolytic treatment and fully recovered.

Intramyocardial Mass with an Echo-Free Center as an Echocardiographic Presentation of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

A 43-year-old man presented to the emergency department with atypical chest pains. Physical examinations yielded no significant findings. Serial electrocardiography and high-sensitivity troponin measurements were normal. Transthoracic echocardiography in the emergency department revealed increased septal wall thickness; therefore, the patient was referred to the echocardiography ward for further evaluation. The echocardiographic findings were normal, except for an intramyocardial mass with an echo-free center in the base-to-mid portion of the inferior and inferoseptal walls (Figures 1. A, B & C). Additionally, the base and mid portions of the anteroseptal wall were hypertrophied. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated myocardial hypertrophy in the base and mid portions of the anteroseptal, inferoseptal, and inferior walls (Figures 2. A, B, C, D & E), as well as a patchy mid-wall appearance of late gadolinium enhancement, at the anterior and posterior junction of the right ventricle to the left ventricle (Figures 2. F, G & H). The findings were typical of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. What was revealed in the late gadolinium-enhanced images was compatible with the echo-free space in echocardiography. Otherwise speaking, the cardiac magnetic resonance images delineated the background pathology (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) and revealed fibrosis as the etiology of the echo-free space in echocardiography. Holter monitoring of electrocardiography was unremarkable. To our knowledge, intramyocardial masses with echo-free centers as an echocardiographic presentation of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy have not been reported yet. Accordingly, in the differential diagnosis of the aforementioned echocardiographic findings, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy should be included. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in this condition is helpful.

Association of COVID-19 infection with large thrombi in left and right atrial appendages.

BACKGROUND: Multiple intra-atrial thrombi are found rarely except in the presence of prosthetic valves, intra-cardiac devices, structural connections like foramen ovale and thrombophilia. CASE PRESENTATION: We reported acute thrombosis formation in right and left atrial appendages of a 66-year old man admitted due to progressive dyspnea since 7 days earlier. He had a history of prior laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and atrial fibrillation (AF). Infection with COVID-19 was confirmed thereafter. Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMR) suggested the diagnosis of atrial clot superior to neoplasm. After surgical removal of the thrombi, symptoms as well as imaging features of pneumonia were resolved. CONCLUSIONS: We should focus on different presentations and complications of systemic inflammation especially in the setting of COVID-19 infection. Although risk factors of thrombosis are present in some of these patients, rapid progression as well as unusual types of involvement may indicate to a new trigger.

Non diagnosed PAPVC induce large reverse venovenous shunt after modified Fontan surgery: A case report of a rare anomaly and embolization therapy.

Fontan operation is a reliable palliative surgery for patients with single ventricle physiology. Still, the development of complication is common; one of these complications that need to interventional approach is veno-venous collaterals between systemic and pulmonary veins. A 16-yearoldgirl with a history of modified Fontan operation at 9 years ago was referred with progressive cyanosis and dyspnea on exertion. In contrast trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE), no fenestration was seen in Fontan circulation. Cardiac magnetic resonance revealed partial anomalous pulmonary vein connection (PAPVC) from left upper pulmonary vein to vertical vein and then into the in nominate vein and SVC with the reverse flow from superior vena cava (SVC) to left upper pulmonary vein(LUPV). This anomalous vein became severe engorged and tortuous. Possibly, LUPV and the verticalvein was dilated gradually as a result of increased pressure in the Fontan circuit. Finally, she underwent successful coil embolization in the midpart of the vertical vein. The oxygen saturation increased from80% to 93%.

Motion-compensated frame rate up-conversion in carotid ultrasound images using optical flow and manifold learning.

OBJECTIVE: Carotid ultrasonography is a reliable and non-invasive method to evaluate atherosclerosis disease and its complications. B-mode cineloops are widely used to assess the severity of atherosclerosis and its progression; ho- wever, tracking rapid wall motions of the carotid artery is still a challenging issue due the low frame rate. The aim of this paper was to present a new hybrid frame rate up-conversion (FRUC) method that accounts for motion based on manifold learning and optical flow. METHODS: In the last decade, manifold learning technique has been used to pseudo-increase the frame rate of carotid ultrasound images, but due to the dependence of this method to the number of recorded cardiac cycles and frames, a new hybrid method based on manifold learning and optical flow was proposed in this paper. RESULTS: Locally linear embedding (LLE) algorithm was first applied to find the relation between the frames of consecutive cardiac cycles in a low dimensional manifold. Then by applying the optical flow motion estimation algorithm, a motion compensated frame was reconstructed. CONCLUSION: Consequently, a cycle with more frames was created to provide a more accurate consideration of carotid wall motion compared to the typical B-mode ultrasound ima-ges. The results revealed that our new hybrid method outperforms the pseudo-increasing frame rate scheme based on manifold learning.

Value of speckle tracking echocardiography for detection of clinically silent left ventricular dysfunction in patients with ß-thalassemia.

OBJECTIVE: ß-Thalassemia is an inherited hemoglobin disorder resulting in chronic hemolytic anemia requiring chronic transfusion therapy. Cardiac involvement is the main cause of death in patients with thalassemia major. The narrow border is between overt myocardial dysfunction and clinically silent left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in patients with thalassemia. Therefore, we need novel parameters in different imaging techniques to discover cardiac involvement in an early and subtle stage. We explore to find a novel, straightforward and informative parameter in echocardiography as a noninvasive, economical and really routine in clinical practice. METHODS: In this prospective study, 55 patients, who are known cases of ß-thalassemia major, receiving long-term blood transfusions and undergoing iron chelation therapy were enrolled. Ferritin level, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) T2 * value, full conventional echocardiography and speckle tracking, LV regional circumferential and longitudinal strain values (%) and time-to-peak strain (ms) of 17 segments cardiac model in eyeball tomogram were measured. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in global longitudinal strain (GLS) (-20.9% ± 1.9 vs. -22.2 ± 1.03) and also basal segments longitudinal strain compared to normal subjects group (-17.4% ± 2.7 vs. -19.6% ± 1.2). There was no significant difference in circumferential strain value between thalassemia patients and normal control group. Interestingly, there was no significant correlation between GLS and CMR T2 * values showing no association between cardiac iron load and longitudinal strain. CONCLUSION: Speckle tracking echocardiography could be used as a feasible method for evaluating subclinical myocardial dysfunction in patients with thalassemia major. Echocardiography, using GLS, could predict clinically silent myocardial dysfunction independent of CMR (T2 * value) and extension of iron deposition. Our study also puts forward other causes such as chronic tissue hypoxia resulting from chronic anemia as a root cause and initiating factor for subsequent injury by the iron deposition. Speckle tracking can recognize the cardiac involvement in really early stages.

Left ventricular apical hypoplasia: Case report on cardiomyopathy and a history of sudden cardiac death.

BACKGROUND: Isolated left ventricular apical hypoplasia with several different unrecognized dimensions is a newly discovered congenital anomaly of the heart. CASE REPORT: In this report, we describe a case of cardiomyopathy of this type occurring in a 13-year-old male with a history of mental retardation and sudden cardiac death (SCD) of second-degree relatives. The patient was referred for an evaluation of cardiac status. An echocardiography analysis demonstrated a spherical left ventricle (LV) appearance with mild mitral regurgitation. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed a spherical and truncated LV appearance. The right ventricle was found to have elongated and wrapped around the LV, and diverticulum was also seen in the cardiac MRI. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is to present the first case of LV apical hypoplasia combined with LV diverticulum and a family history of SCD. As more cases featuring this cardiomyopathy type are recognized, it will be easier to elucidate the natural history and management of such cardiac anomalies.

Study of the effects of age and body mass index on the carotid wall vibration: extraction methodology and analysis.

This study aims to non-invasively extract the vibrations of the carotid wall and evaluate the changes in the carotid artery wall caused by age and obesity. Such evaluation can increase the possibility of detecting wall stiffness and atherosclerosis in its early stage. In this study, a novel method that uses a phase-tracking method based on the continuous wavelet transform calculates the carotid wall motion from the ultrasound radio frequency signals. To extract the high-frequency components of the wall motion, wall vibration, the empirical mode decomposition was then used. The posterior wall (intima-media) motion and vibration were extracted for 54 healthy volunteers (mean age: 33.87 ± 14.73 years), including 13 overweight subjects (body mass index > 25) and 14 female participants using their radio frequency signals. The results showed that the dominant frequency of the wall vibration correlates with age (r = -0.5887, p < 0.001) and body mass index (r = -0.4838, p < 0.001). The quantitative analysis further demonstrated that the dominant frequency of the vibration in the radial direction of the carotid wall decreases by age and is lower in overweight subjects. Besides, the peak-to-peak amplitude of the wall vibration showed significant correlations with age (r = -0.5456, p < 0.001) and body mass index (r = -0.5821, p < 0.001). The peak-to-peak amplitude also decreases by age and is lower in overweight subjects. However, there were no significant correlations between these features of the wall vibrations and systolic/diastolic blood pressure and sex. Our proposed measures were certified using the calculated arterial stiffness indices. The average power spectrum of the elderly subjects'wall motion in the frequency range of the wall vibration (>100 Hz) is decreased more in comparison with the young subjects. Our results revealed that the proposed method may be useful for detecting the stiffness and distortion in the carotid wall that occur prior to wall thickening caused by age as an early-stage atherosclerotic sign.

A Thirty-one-year Old Pregnant Woman With Infiltrative Cardiac Masses.

Primary cardiac tumors are rare in all ages. Their reported prevalence ranges from 0.001 to 0.03 percent in autopsy series. 25 percent of primary cardiac tumors are considered to be malignant, the majority of which are sarcomas. On account of the late presentation of symptoms in malignant heart masses, finding locally infiltrative tumors or systemically widespread cases at initial presentation is common. We present a case of malignant heart tumor in a thirty-one-year old woman who was first examined here after the termination of pregnancy.

Eosinophilic Endomyocardial Fibrosis and Strongyloides stercoralis: A Case Report.

A 64-year-old female with history of previous aortoiliac occlusion and aortoiliac bypass operation four months ago presented with dyspnea, ascites and leg edema. She has been suffering from bloody diarrhea since two weeks earlier. Laboratory data showed important eosinophilia and stool examination was positive for Strongyloides stercoralis. Patient had clinical signs of heart failure. A cardiac MRI revealed hypersignal subendocardium in favor of endomyocardial fibrosis. Hypereosinophilic syndrome is defined by persistent hypereosinophilia for more than 6 months. The association with different etiologies is known but the report of cardiac involvement due to S. stercoralis infection is not very common. Cardiac manifestation is characterized by a restrictive cardiomyopathy due to toxic damage produced by activated eosinophils.

Diagnosing Coronary Artery Disease via Data Mining Algorithms by Considering Laboratory and Echocardiography Features.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the result of the accumulation of athermanous plaques within the walls of coronary arteries, which supply the myocardium with oxygen and nutrients. CAD leads to heart attacks or strokes and is, thus, one of the most important causes of death worldwide. Angiography, an imaging modality for blood vessels, is currently the most accurate method of diagnosing artery stenosis. However, the disadvantages of this method such as complications, costs, and possible side effects have prompted researchers to investigate alternative solutions. OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to use data analysis, a non-invasive and less costly method, and various data mining algorithms to predict the stenosis of arteries. Among many people who refer to hospitals due to chest pain, a great number of them are normal and as such do not need angiography. The objective of this study was to predict patients who are most probably normal using features with the highest correlations with CAD with a view to obviate angiography costs and complications. Not a substitute for angiography, this method would select high-risk cases that definitely need angiography. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Different features were measured and collected from potential patients in order to construct a dataset, which was later utilized for model extraction. Most of the proposed methods in the literature have not considered the stenosis of each artery separately, whereas the present study employed laboratory and echocardiographic data to diagnose the stenosis of each artery separately. The data were gathered from 303 random visitors to Rajaie Cardiovascular, Medical and Research Center. Electrocardiographic (ECG) data were studied in our previous works. The goal of this study was, therefore, to seek the accuracy of echocardiographic and laboratory features to predict CAD patients that require angiography. RESULTS: Bagging and C4.5 classification algorithms were drawn upon to analyse the data, the former reaching accuracy rates of 79.54%, 61.46%, and 68.96% for the diagnosis of the stenoses of the left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (LCX), and right coronary artery (RCA), respectively. The accuracy to predict the LAD stenosis was attained via feature selection. In the current study, features effective in the stenosis of arteries were further determined, and some rules for the evaluation of triglyceride, hemoglobin, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and ejection fraction were extracted. CONCLUSIONS: The current study presents the highest accuracy value to diagnose the LAD stenosis in the literature.

Cardiac MRI in a patient with coincident left ventricular non-compaction and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy is a rare congenital cardiomyopathy that affects both children and adults. Since the clinical manifestations are not sufficient to establish diagnosis, echocardiography is the diagnostic tool that makes it possible to document ventricular non-compaction and establish prognostic factors. We report a 47-year-old woman with a history of dilated cardiomyopathy with unknown etiology. Echocardiography showed mild left ventricular enlargement with severe systolic dysfunction (EF = 20-25%). According to cardiac magnetic resonance imaging findings non-compaction left ventricle with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was considered, and right ventricular septal biopsy was recommended. Right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy showed moderate hypertrophy of cardiac myocytes with foci of myocytolysis and moderate interstitial fibrosis. No evidence of infiltrative deposition was seen.