Characteristic cardiac scar pattern predicts risk of fatal a...( map and gauge the precise amount and di...),Health

map and gauge the precise amount and distribution of scar tissue in the heart's muscle wall. The amount of scar tissue was measured as a percentage of the thickness of the muscle wall, which is on average about 1 centimeter. Composed of dense, fibrous tissue, with little to no blood supply, scar tissue was clearly visible on the image, the researchers say. After MRI, each patient underwent a standard electrophysiological assessment with a catheter.

Statistical analysis showed that the five patients who tested positive had the characteristic scar pattern, ranging from 26 percent to 75 percent scar tissue, with MRI. While MRI did not explain why the scar tissue forms, such scar patterns have been previously noted on autopsy studies of patients with heart disease. The researchers believe that previous inflammation, injury or excess stress on the heart wall may lead to this fibrosis and scar formation.

"Our study is yet another example of the potential applications of cardiac MRI in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease," says the study's lead author, Saman Nazarian, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiology, clinical and research fellow at Hopkins. "Cardiac MRI is already useful for assessing the structure and function of the heart and the extent of structural changes due to coronary artery disease. MRI can also help identify patients in need of aggressive medical therapy and can help in the planning of invasive heart surgery or identification of the best candidates for bypass surgery."

Nazarian points out that these results also offer promise that cardiac MRI might prove useful in screening people at moderate risk of sudden cardiac death from arrhythmias - those without significant coronary artery disease and ejection fractions between 30 percent and 50 percent.

Another therapeutic implication, he says, is that identifying the telltale scar pattern could potentially improve existing procedures to ablate, or burn off, re
'"/>

Contact: David March
dmarch1@jhmi.edu
410-955-1534
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
1-Nov-2005

Page: 1 2 3 4
Related medicine news :

1. A broader look at cardiac CTA images often finds diseases/disorders beyond the heart
2. UT study reveals inaccuracies in cardiac PET-CT imaging, finds fixes
3. Clinical guidelines for blood conservation during cardiac procedures developed
4. Procedural changes may reduce cardiac arrests outside pediatric ICUs
5. Angioplasty reduces long-term cardiac risk among heart patients with silent ischemia
6. Use of hydrocortisone reduces incidence of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery
7. Treatment of in-hospital cardiac patients is focus of Jefferson University presentations
8. Opening of specialty cardiac hospitals associated with increase in rate of cardiac procedures
9. SCAI expert panel sets high standards for PCI without on-site cardiac surgical backup
10. High level of cardiac biomarker may help predict risk of CVD events in patients with heart disease
11. Medicaid patients less likely than those with private insurance to receive recommended cardiac care