Coronary artery disease represents one of the leading reasons of death worldwide, and acute coronary syndromes are their most devastating consequences. It is extremely important to identify the patients at risk for developing an acute myocardial infarction, and this goal can be achieved using noninvasive imaging techniques. Coronary computed tomography angiog- raphy (CCTA) is currently one of the most reliable methods used for assessing the coronary arteries; however, its use in emergency settings is sometimes limited due to time constraints. This paper presents the main characteristics of plaque vulnerability, the role of CCTA in the assessment of vulnerable plaques, and automatic segmentation techniques of the coronary artery tree based on CT angiography images. A detailed inventory of existing methods is given, representing the state-of-the-art of computational methods applied in vascular system seg- mentation, focusing on the current applications in acute coronary syndromes.

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Background: This systematic review seeks to evaluate the role of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), quantified either by thickness, assessed by transthoracic echocardiography, or by vol- ume, assessed by cardiac computed tomography (CT), in the follow-up of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Method: One-hundred forty-four articles were screened, from which 56 were reviewed in full-text. From those, 47 studies were excluded for the following reasons: they did not meet the inclusion criteria; they were either reviews or meta-analyses; the study cohorts included only stable coronary artery disease patients; they did not state a clear and concise study design, endpoints, or follow-up. The final draft included nine studies for systematic evaluation. Results: Of the 2,306 patients included in the review, 170 underwent cardiac CT while the remaining 2,136 underwent transthoracic echocardiography for the mea- surement of EAT. The analysis found that the EAT thickness was significantly associated with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) rates during hospitalization (OR: –1.3, 95% CI: 1.05–1.62, p = 0.020) and at three years (HR: 1.524, 95% CI: 1.0–2.2, p = 0.038). The included studies found that EAT was correlated with the following clinical and angiographic risk scores for ACS: GRACE (r = 0.438, p <0.001), TIMI risk score (r = 0.363, p = 0.001), SYNTAX score (r = 0.690, p <0.0001; r = 0.610, p <0.01), and Gensini score (r = 0.438, p = 0.001). There was an inverse correlation between ST-segment resolution of <70% after revascularization and EAT (r = −0.414, p = 0.01), and the myocardial blush grade (r = −0.549, p <0.001). The EF aggregation ranged between 2.65 mm and 4.7 mm within the included studies. Conclusions: EAT, evalu- ated either by echocardiography or cardiac CT, correlates with the severity of coronary lesions, with the clinical and angiographic risk scores for acute coronary syndromes, with indicators for coronary reperfusion, and with short- and long-term MACE rates. Further studies are required to fully elucidate the role of this extensively studied but still novel cardiovascular biomarker as part of a risk prediction tool.

Introduction: Myocardial involvement in pericardial diseases and the effect of pericardial in- flammation and effusion on the function of the left ventricle (LV) is still a controversial is- sue. The present study aimed to evaluate LV regional wall abnormalities in patients with acute peri-myocarditis, using 3D echocardiographic assessment of LV contractility. Material and methods: The study included 56 subjects divided into two groups: Group 1 – 28 subjects with acute peri-myocarditis and Group 2 – 28 healthy controls. All subjects underwent a complete clinical examination, including laboratory tests. 3D echocardiography was performed to assess the left ventricular end-diastolic (EDV) and end-systolic volumes (ESV), and to calculate spe- cific indexes for global and regional ventricular contractility, such as the index of contraction amplitude (ICA) and the regional index of contraction amplitude (RICA) for each segment cor- responding to the region affected by peri- myocarditis. Results: 3D echocardiography showed no differences between the groups regarding the EDV (p = 0.2), the LV ejection fraction (Group 1: 55.82% ± 3.36% vs. Group 2: 57.21% ± 4.69%, p = 0.2). The ESV however, was significantly higher in Group 1 compared to Group 2 (55.78 ± 5.45 ml vs. 52.20 ± 6.43 ml, p = 0.04). ICA was similar between the groups (p = 0.2). However, the RICA was significantly lower in Group 1 compared to Group 2 (2.27 ± 0.63 vs. 5.16 ± 0.54, p <0.0001). Conclusions: The extension of the inflammatory process from the pericardium to the adjacent myocardial layer may affect the contractility of the LV. A good association exists between peri-myocarditis and the regional contractility abnormalities of the LV.

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New imaging tools have been developed in recent years to rapidly and accurately diagnose life-threatening diseases associated with high mortality rates, such as acute coronary syn- dromes, acute aortic dissection, or pulmonary embolism. The concept of using computed to- mographic (CT) assessment in emergency settings is based on the possibility of excluding multiple acute pathologies within one scan. It can be used for patients complaining of acute chest pain of unclear etiology with the possible association of acute coronary dissection or pulmonary embolism, but only a low to moderate risk of developing an acute coronary syn- drome. One of the benefits of this protocol is the possibility of decreasing the number of patients who are hospitalized for further investigations. The technique also allows the rapid triage of patients and the safe discharge of those who show negative results. The aim of this review is to summarize the current medical literature regarding the potential use of CT for the triple rule-out (TRO) of coronary etiologies

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This is a case report of a 36-year-old male who was diagnosed with acute inferior and right ventricular myocardial infarction and treated with percutaneous coronary angioplasty with a drug-eluting stent in the right coronary artery. A profile test for thrombophilia was performed for methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene mutation; the test was positive for a heterozygous mutation — C677C and 1298A. The patient received a long-term treatment with folic acid supplements, taken daily. This case report shows that medical doctors should have an outside-the-box approach for the diagnosis and therapeutic management of young patients who present with acute cardiovascular events. If the patient in question does not present clear cardiovascular risk factors for acute myocardial ischemia, the clinician should seek for possible causes, thus leading to several benefits in the management and secondary prevention of such cases.

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Arteriovenous fistulas are abnormal vascular communications between the arterial and ve- nous system and may lead to the development of arteriovenous shunts. These malformations are extremely rare, and their diagnosis can be difficult due to the lack of symptoms or the absence of hemodynamic consequences. In many cases, arteriovenous fistulas are discovered by chance. In this brief report, we present the case of a 31-year-old male with symptoms suggestive of angina pectoris, tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome and multiple episodes of syncope. Multi-slice computed tomography revealed the presence of multiple mediastinal fistulas connecting the aorta, superior vena cava, pulmonary veins and azygos system.