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This article, published in the Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology, discusses the use of magnetocardiography (MCG) for risk stratification in patients with Brugada syndrome, an arrhythmia syndrome associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. The study aimed to identify specific MCG patterns associated with known risk factors. The retrospective study included 74 patients, and MCG measurements were performed using a 64-sensor MCG system. The study found that a longer time interval (ΔQRS) on MCG was associated with a positive response to sodium channel blocker challenge and type 1 Brugada electrocardiogram (ECG). The study suggests that MCG offers several advantages over ECG for risk stratification in Brugada syndrome patients. [Extracted from the article]

The left atrial volume (LAV) is an important indicator of the severity of certain diseases, and measuring LAV through the cardiac cycle may enable the evaluation of various left atrium (LA) functional parameters. The results of two-dimensional (2D) echocardiographic LAV measurement methods vary, and no technique is accepted as being optimal. This study compared the accuracy of end-systolic and end-diastolic LAV measurements by 2D echocardiography with those obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fifty consecutive patients who underwent both echocardiography and MRI due to clinical reasons with nonselective cardiac disease were studied. LAVs by 2D echocardiography were obtained with the prolate ellipsoid (PE), biplane area-length (AL), and modified Simpson’s (MS) methods. End-systolic and end-diastolic LAVs calculated by each method correlated significantly with MRI results ( P < 0.0001). The prolate ellipsoid method provided LAVs that most correlated with MRI results, and the biplane area-length and modified Simpson’s methods provided LAVs with small mean differences (<5 ml) compared to MRI results. All three methods of 2D echocardiographic LAV measurement provide valuable LAV data, suggesting the possibility of evaluating various LA functional parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]