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Aims The aim of this study is to quantify altered myocardial calcium handling in non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy using magnetic resonance imaging. Methods and results Patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 10) or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (n = 17) underwent both gadolinium and manganese contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and were compared with healthy volunteers (n = 20). Differential manganese uptake (Ki) was assessed using a two-compartment Patlak model. Compared with healthy volunteers, reduction in T1 with manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging was lower in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy [mean reduction 257 ± 45 (21%) vs. 288 ± 34 (26%) ms, P Conclusion The rate of manganese uptake in both dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy provides a measure of altered myocardial calcium handling. This holds major promise for the detection and monitoring of dysfunctional myocardium, with the potential for early intervention and prognostication.

AIMS: High-risk plaque (HRP) and non-obstructive coronary artery disease independently predict adverse events, but their importance to future culprit lesions has not been resolved. We sought to determine in patients prior to confirmed acute coronary syndrome (ACS) the association between lesion percent diameter stenosis (%DS), and the absolute number and prevalence of HRP. The secondary objective was to examine the relative importance of non-obstructive HRP in future culprit lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Within the ICONIC study, a nested case–control study of patients undergoing coronary computed tomographic angiography (coronary CT), we included ACS cases with culprit lesions confirmed by invasive coronary angiography and coregistered to baseline coronary CT. Quantitative CT was used to evaluate obstructive (≥50%) and non-obstructive (