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Aim: Recent research highlights the role of pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) in coronary artery disease (CAD) development. PCAT has been recognized as a metabolically active tissue involved in local inflammation and oxidative stress, potentially impacting CAD initiation and progression. Radiomics texture analysis shows promising results to better understand the link between PCAT quality and CAD risk. Photon-counting CT (PCCT) offers improved feature stability and holds the potential for advancing radiomics analysis in CAD research., Methods: In this retrospective, single-center, ethic committee-approved study, PCAT of the left descending artery (LAD) and right coronary artery (RCA) was manually segmented and radiomic features were extracted using pyradiomics. The study population consisted of one group of patients with CAD and plaques exclusively located in the left coronary artery and another group without CAD. Mean and standard deviation were calculated using R Statistics. Random forest feature selection was performed to identify differentiating features between the four sets CAD-LAD, CAD-RCA, non-CAD-LAD and non-CAD-RCA., Results: 36 patients were enrolled in this study (16 female, mean age 56 years). The feature "original_glszm_GrayLevelNonUniformity" measuring the gray-level variability was identified as the most potent differentiator between CAD-LAD and non-CAD-LAD, as well as CAD-RCA and non-CAD-RCA with the greatest differentiating capability for the LAD comparison. The feature showed little differentiating power between CAD-LAD and CAD-RCA and virtually none between non-CAD-LAD and non-CAD-RCA. The mean values were consistently lower in LAD-PCAT and exhibited patient-specific reductions in CAD patients (155.16 for CAD-LAD, 163.21 for non-CAD-LAD, 189.13 for CAD-RCA and 215.40 for non-CAD-RCA)., Conclusion: Radiomics analysis revealed differences in PCAT texture of patients with and without CAD with a potentially more homogeneous pattern in CAD-affected patients. These changes related to plaques in the left coronary artery also seemed to occur in the unaffected RCA-PCAT, although to a slightly lesser extent., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 Kahmann, Nörenberg, Papavassiliu, Schoenberg, Froelich and Ayx.)

Objectives: This study aims to investigate how radiomics analysis can help understand the association between plaque texture, epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), and cardiovascular risk. Working with a Photon-counting CT, which exhibits enhanced feature stability, offers the potential to advance radiomics analysis and enable its integration into clinical routines., Methods: Coronary plaques were manually segmented in this retrospective, single-centre study and radiomic features were extracted using pyradiomics. The study population was divided into groups according to the presence of high-risk plaques (HRP), plaques with at least 50% stenosis, plaques with at least 70% stenosis, or triple-vessel disease. A combined group with patients exhibiting at least one of these risk factors was formed. Random forest feature selection identified differentiating features for the groups. EAT thickness and density were measured and compared with feature selection results., Results: A total number of 306 plaques from 61 patients (mean age 61 years +/- 8.85 [standard deviation], 13 female) were analysed. Plaques of patients with HRP features or relevant stenosis demonstrated a higher presence of texture heterogeneity through various radiomics features compared to patients with only an intermediate stenosis degree. While EAT thickness did not significantly differ, affected patients showed significantly higher mean densities in the 50%, HRP, and combined groups, and insignificantly higher densities in the 70% and triple-vessel groups., Conclusion: The combination of a higher EAT density and a more heterogeneous plaque texture might offer an additional tool in identifying patients with an elevated risk of cardiovascular events., Clinical Relevance Statement: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality globally. Plaque composition and changes in the EAT are connected to cardiac risk. A better understanding of the interrelation of these risk indicators can lead to improved cardiac risk prediction., Key Points: Cardiac plaque composition and changes in the EAT are connected to cardiac risk. Higher EAT density and more heterogeneous plaque texture are related to traditional risk indicators. Radiomics texture analysis conducted on PCCT scans can help identify patients with elevated cardiac risk., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Competing Interests: Declarations of interest None.

(1) Background: Epicardial adipose tissue influences cardiac biology in physiological and pathological terms. As it is suspected to be linked to coronary artery calcification, identifying improved methods of diagnostics for these patients is important. The use of radiomics and the new Photon-Counting computed tomography (PCCT) may offer a feasible step toward improved diagnostics in these patients. (2) Methods: In this retrospective single-centre study epicardial adipose tissue was segmented manually on axial unenhanced images. Patients were divided into three groups, depending on the severity of coronary artery calcification. Features were extracted using pyradiomics. Mean and standard deviation were calculated with the Pearson correlation coefficient for feature correlation. Random Forest classification was applied for feature selection and ANOVA was performed for group comparison. (3) Results: A total of 53 patients (32 male, 21 female, mean age 57, range from 21 to 80 years) were enrolled in this study and scanned on the novel PCCT. "Original_glrlm_LongRunEmphasis", "original_glrlm_RunVariance", "original_glszm_HighGrayLevelZoneEmphasis", and "original_glszm_SizeZoneNonUniformity" were found to show significant differences between patients with coronary artery calcification (Agatston score 1-99/≥100) and those without. (4) Conclusions: Four texture features of epicardial adipose tissue are associated with coronary artery calcification and may reflect inflammatory reactions of epicardial adipose tissue, offering a potential imaging biomarker for atherosclerosis detection.

Introduction: Pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) stands in complex bidirectional interaction with the surrounding arteries and is known to be connected to many cardiovascular diseases involving vascular inflammation. PCAT texture may be influenced by other cardiovascular risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia. The recently established photon-counting CT could improve texture analysis and help detect those changes by offering higher spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio., Methods: In this retrospective, single-center, IRB-approved study, PCAT of the left and right coronary artery was manually segmented and radiomic features were extracted using pyradiomics. The study population consisted of a test collective and a validation collective. The collectives were each divided into two groups defined by the presence or absence of hypercholesterolemia, taken from self-reported conditions and confirmed by medical records. Mean and standard deviation were calculated with Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation of features and visualized as boxplots and heatmaps using R statistics. Random forest feature selection was performed to identify differentiating features between the two groups. 66 patients were enrolled in this study (34 female, mean age 58 years)., Results: Two radiomics features allowing differentiation between PCAT texture of the groups were identified ( p -values between 0.013 and 0.24) and validated. Patients with hypercholesterolemia presented with a greater concentration of high-density values as indicated through analysis of specific texture features as "gldm_HighGrayLevelEmphasis" (23.95 vs. 22.99) and "glrlm_HighGrayLevelRunEmphasis" (24.21 vs. 23.31)., Discussion: Texture analysis of PCAT allowed differentiation between patients with and without hypercholesterolemia offering a potential imaging biomarker for this specific cardiovascular risk factor., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The handling editor JL declared a past co-authorship with the author MF., (© 2023 Kahmann, Tharmaseelan, Riffel, Overhoff, Papavassiliu, Schoenberg, Froelich and Ayx.)

Pectus excavatum (PE) is a congenital malformation with a funnel-shaped depression of the sternum that can lead to cardiac symptoms. However, there are patients with thoracic constriction (defined as elevated Haller-Index > 3.25 determined by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR)) without visible evidence of PE, leading to similar complaints. Between January 2004 till June 2020, patients who underwent CMR for further evaluation of the heart, due to cardiac symptoms were enrolled and compared to controls. Biventricular global strain analysis was assessed using feature tracking (CMR-FT). ECG and/or Holter recordings were performed to detect rhythm events. Cardiac symptoms were evaluated in detail using a questionnaire. Finally, 88 patients (male 35, female 53) with elevated Haller-Index (3.9 ± 0.8) were included and compared to CMR data from 25 individuals with confirmed PE and 25 healthy controls (HC). Mean age at time of CMR was 35 ± 16 years. The most common symptoms at presentation were palpitations (41%), followed by dyspnea (24%) and atypical chest pain (14%). Three patients (3%) had atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. Concomitant phenomena were pericardial effusion in 39% and mitral valve prolapse (MVP) in 27% of the study cohort. While there were no differences in left ventricular function or volumes, right ventricular function (RVEF) was significantly lower in patients with internal PE compared to HC (RVEF (%) 50 ± 5 vs 59 ± 4, p < 0.01). Strain analysis revealed only discrete changes in RV strain, implying a purely mechanical problem in the absence of structural changes. RV dimensions were negatively correlated with the size of thoracic indices (r = 0.41), reflecting the extent of thoracic constriction. MVP was more prevalent in patients with greater thoracic indices (r = 0.24). The described cohort, referred to as internal PE because of the absence of external changes, showed similar CMR morphologic findings as patients with real PE (especially altered dimensions of the right heart and a lower RVEF). In addition, there was a high incidence of rhythm disturbances, such as extrasystoles or arrhythmias. In one-third of the study cohort additional abnormalities such as pericardial effusion or MVP were present, with MVP being found more frequently in patients with larger thoracic indices, suggesting a possible common pathogenesis.Trial registration: ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN15355937, retrospectively registered 03.06.2022, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN15355937?q=15355937&filters=&sort=&offset=1&totalResults=1&page=1&pageSize=10 ., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: We investigated the feasibility of evaluating coronary arteries with a contrast-enhanced (CE) self-navigated sparse isotropic 3D whole heart T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study sequence., Methods: A total of 22 consecutive patients underwent coronary angiography and/or cardiac computed tomography (CT) including cardiac MRI. The image quality was evaluated on a 3-point Likert scale. Inter-reader variability for image quality was analyzed with Cohen's kappa for the main coronary segments (left circumflex [LCX], left anterior descending [LAD], right coronary artery [RCA]) and the left main trunk (LMT)., Results: Inter-reader agreement for image quality of the coronary tree ranged from substantial to perfect, with a Cohen's kappa of 0.722 (RCA mid ) to 1 (LCX prox ). The LMT had the best image quality. Image quality of the proximal vessel segments differed significantly from the mid- and distal segments (RCA prox vs. RCA dist , p < 0.05). The LCX segments showed no significant difference in image quality along the vessel length (LCX prox vs. LCX dist , p = n.s.). The mean acquisition time for the study sequence was 553 s (±46 s)., Conclusion: Coronary imaging with a sparse 3D whole-heart sequence is feasible in a reasonable amount of time producing good-quality imaging. Image quality was poorer in distal coronary segments and along the entire course of the LCX., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) and gated non-contrast cardiac CT in the workup of coronary artery disease in patients with low and intermediate pretest probability, through the readjustment guidelines by medical societies. However, in routine clinical practice, these CT data sets are usually evaluated dominantly regarding relevant coronary artery stenosis and calcification. The implementation of radiomics analysis, which provides visually elusive quantitative information from digital images, has the potential to open a new era for cardiac CT that goes far beyond mere stenosis or calcification grade estimation. This review offers an overview of the results obtained from radiomics analyses in cardiac CT, including the evaluation of coronary plaques, pericoronary adipose tissue, and the myocardium itself. It also highlights the advantages and disadvantages of use in routine clinical practice.

We hypothesized that myocardial septal scarring, assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) using late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), at the site of cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) lead placement may predict treatment response. Eligible heart failure (HF) patients underwent LGE CMR imaging before CCM device implantation. The response to CCM therapy at follow-up was determined by a change in NYHA class and echocardiographic left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment. Patients were classified as responders, if they showed an improvement in either NYHA class or improvement of LVEF by ≥ 5%. 58 patients were included. 67% of patients were classified as responders according to improved NYHA; 55% according to LVEF improvement. 74% of patients were responders if either NYHA class or LVEF improvement was observed. 90% of responders (according to NYHA class) showed septal LGE < 25% at septal position of the leads, while 44% of non-responders showed septal LGE > 25% (p < 0.01). In patients treated with CCM, an improvement of NYHA class was observed when leads were placed at myocardial segments with a CMR- LGE burden less than 25%., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the diagnostic image quality of spectral dual-source photon-counting detector coronary computed tomography angiography (PCD-CCTA) for coronary artery disease in a multicenter study. The image quality (IQ), assessability, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), Agatston score, and radiation exposure were measured. Stenoses were quantified and compared with invasive coronary angiography, if available. A total of 92 subjects (65% male, age 58 ± 14 years) were analyzed. The prevalence of significant coronary artery disease (CAD) (stenosis ≥ 50%) was 17% of all patients, the range of the Agatston score was 0−2965 (interquartile range (IQR) 0−135). The IQ was very good (one, IQR one−two), the CNR was very high (20 ± 10), and 5% of the segments were rated non-diagnostic. The IQ and assessability were higher in proximal coronary segments (p < 0.001). Agatston scores up to 600 did not significantly affect the assessability of the coronary segments (p = 0.3). Heart rate influenced assessability only at a high-pitch mode (p = 0.009). For the invasive coronary angiography (ICA) subgroup (n = nine), the diagnostic performance for CAD per segment was high (sensitivity 92%, specificity 96%), although the limited number of patients who underwent both diagnostic modalities limits the generalization of this finding at this stage. PCD-CCTA provides good image quality for low and moderate levels of coronary calcifications.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of feature tracking (FT) derived cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) strain parameters of the left ventricle (LV)/right ventricle (RV) in ischaemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) patients treated with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Current guidelines suggest a LV-ejection fraction ≤35% as major criterion for ICD implantation in ICM, but this is a poor predictor for arrhythmic events. Supplementary parameters are missing., Methods and Results: Ischaemic cardiomyopathy patients (n = 242), who underwent CMR imaging prior to primary and secondary implantation of ICD, were classified depending on EF ≤ 35% (n = 188) or >35% (n = 54). FT parameters were derived from steady-state free precession cine views using dedicated software. The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular mortality (CVM) and/or appropriate ICD therapy. There were no significant differences in FT-function or LV-/RV-function parameters in patients with an EF ≤ 35% correlating to the primary endpoint. In patients with EF > 35%, standard CMR functional parameters, such as LV-EF, did not reveal significant differences. However, significant differences in most FT parameters correlating to the primary endpoint were observed in this subgroup. LV-GLS (left ventricular-global longitudinal strain) and RV-GRS (right ventricular-global radial strain) revealed the best diagnostic performance in ROC curve analysis. The combination of LV-GLS and RV-GRS showed a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 76% for the prediction of future events., Conclusions: The impact of FT derived measurements in the risk stratification of patients with ICM depends on LV function. The combination of LV-GLS/RV-GRS seems to be a predictor of cardiovascular mortality and/or appropriate ICD therapy in patients with EF > 35%., (© 2021 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)