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Background and Aims A variety of maternal heart conditions are associated with abnormal placentation and reduced foetal growth. However, their impact on offspring's long-term cardiovascular health is poorly studied. This study aims to investigate the association between intrauterine exposure to pre-existing maternal cardiovascular disease (CVD) and offspring CVD occurring from infancy to early adulthood, using paternal CVD as a negative control. Methods This nationwide cohort study used register data of live singletons without major malformations or congenital heart disease born between 1992 and 2019 in Sweden. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for essential maternal characteristics. Paternal CVD served as a negative control for assessment of unmeasured genetic and environmental confounding. Results Of the 2 597 786 offspring analysed (49.1% female), 26 471 (1.0%) were born to mothers with pre-existing CVD. During a median follow-up of 14 years (range 1–29 years), 17 382 offspring were diagnosed with CVD. Offspring of mothers with CVD had 2.09 times higher adjusted HR of CVD (95% CI 1.83, 2.39) compared with offspring of mothers without CVD. Compared with maternal CVD, paternal CVD showed an association of smaller magnitude (HR 1.49, 95% CI 1.32, 1.68). Increased hazards of offspring CVD were also found when stratifying maternal CVD into maternal arrhythmia (HR 2.94, 95% CI 2.41, 3.58), vascular (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.21, 2.10), and structural heart diseases (HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.08, 2.02). Conclusions Maternal CVD was associated with an increased risk of CVD in offspring during childhood and young adulthood. Paternal comparison suggests that genetic or shared familial factors may not fully explain this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The orifice area of mitral bioprostheses provides important information regarding their hemodynamic performance. It is usually calculated by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), however, accurate and reproducible determination may be challenging. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has been proven as an accurate alternative for assessing aortic bioprostheses. However, whether CMR can be similarly applied for bioprostheses in the mitral position, particularly in the presence of frequently coincident arrhythmias, is unclear. The aim of the study is to test the feasibility of CMR to evaluate the orifice area of mitral bioprostheses. Methods CMR planimetry was performed in 18 consecutive patients with mitral bioprostheses (n = 13 Hancock®, n = 4 Labcore®, n = 1 Perimount®; mean time since implantation 4.5 ± 3.9 years) in an imaging plane perpendicular to the transprosthetic flow using steady-state free-precession cine imaging under breath-hold conditions on a 1.5T MR system. CMR results were compared with pressure half-time derived orifice areas obtained by TTE. Results Six subjects were in sinus rhythm, 11 in atrial fibrillation, and 1 exhibited frequent ventricular extrasystoles. CMR image quality was rated as good in 10, moderate in 6, and significantly impaired in 2 subjects. In one prosthetic type (Perimount®), strong stent artifacts occurred. Orifice areas by CMR (mean 2.1 ± 0.3 cm2) and TTE (mean 2.1 ± 0.3 cm2) correlated significantly (r = 0.94; p < 0.001). Bland-Altman analysis showed a 95% confidence interval from -0.16 to 0.28 cm2 (mean difference 0.06 ± 0.11 cm2; range -0.1 to 0.3 cm2). Intra- and inter-observer variabilities of CMR planimetry were 4.5 ± 2.9% and 7.9 ± 5.2%. Conclusions The assessment of mitral bioprostheses using CMR is feasible even in those with arrhythmias, providing orifice areas with close agreement to echocardiography and low observer dependency. Larger samples with a greater variety of prosthetic types and more cases of prosthetic dysfunction are required to confirm these preliminary results.

Abstract Background Myocardial edema is a substantial feature of the inflammatory response in human myocarditis. The relation between myocardial edema and myocardial mass in the course of healing myocarditis has not been systematically investigated. We hypothesised that the resolution of myocardial edema as visualised by T2-weighted cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is associated with a decrease of myocardial mass in steady state free precession (SSFP)-cine imaging. Methods 21 patients with acute myocarditis underwent CMR shortly after onset of symptoms and 1 year later. For visualization of edema, a T2-weighted breath-hold black-blood triple-inversion fast spin echo technique was applied and the ratio of signal intensity of myocardium/skeletal muscle was assessed. Left ventricular (LV) mass, volumes and function were quantified from biplane cine steady state free precession images. 11 healthy volunteers served as a control group for interstudy reproducibility of LV mass. Results In patients with myocarditis, a significant decrease in LV mass was observed during follow-up compared to the acute phase (156.7 ± 30.6 g vs. 140.3 ± 28.3 g, p < 0.0001). The reduction of LV mass paralleled the normalization of initially increased myocardial signal intensity on T2-weighted images (2.4 ± 0.4 vs. 1.68 ± 0.3, p < 0.0001). In controls, the interstudy difference of LV mass was lower than in patients (5.1 ± 2.9 g vs. 16.3 ± 14.2 g, p = 0.02) resulting in a lower coefficient of variability (2.1 vs 8.9%, p = 0.04). Conclusion Reversible abnormalities in T2-weighted CMR are paralleled by a transient increase in left ventricular mass during the course of myocarditis. Myocardial edema may be a common pathway explaining these findings.

Background: Studying T1- and T2-mapping for discrimination of acute from chronic myocardial infarction (AMI, CMI). Methods: Eight patients with AMI underwent CMR at 3 T acutely and after >3 months. Imaging techniques included: T2-weighted imaging, late enhancement (LGE), T2-mapping, native and post-contrast T1-mapping. Myocardial T2- and T1-relaxation times were determined for every voxel. Abnormal voxels as defined by having T2- and T1-values beyond a predefined threshold (T2 > 50 ms, native T1 > 1250 ms and post-contrast T1 < 350 ms) were highlighted and compared with LGE as the reference. Results: Abnormal T2-relaxation times were present in the voxels with AMI (=> delete acute infarction; unfortunately this is not possible in your web interface) acute infarction only in half of the subjects. Abnormal T2-values were also present in subjects with CMI, thereby matching the chronically infarcted territory in some. Abnormal native T1 times were present in voxels with AMI in 5/8 subjects, but also remote from the infarcted territory in four. In CMI, abnormal native T1 values corresponded with infarcted voxels, but were also abnormal remote from the infarcted territory. Voxels with abnormal post-contrast T1-relaxation times agreed well with LGE in AMI and CMI. Conclusions: In this pilot-study, T2- and T1-mapping with simple thresholds did not facilitate the discrimination of AMI and CMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Our aim was to describe the outcomes of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19., Methods: This national, population-based, longitudinal, multicentre study used Swedish data that were prospectively collected between 1 December 2020 and 31 May 2021. All patients met the World Health Organization criteria for MIS-C. The outcomes 2 and 8 weeks after diagnosis are presented, and follow-up protocols are suggested., Results: We identified 152 cases, and 133 (87%) participated. When followed up 2 weeks after MIS-C was diagnosed, 43% of the 119 patients had abnormal results, including complete blood cell counts, platelet counts, albumin levels, electrocardiograms and echocardiograms. After 8 weeks, 36% of 89 had an abnormal patient history, but clinical findings were uncommon. Echocardiogram results were abnormal in 5% of 67, and the most common complaint was fatigue. Older children and those who received intensive care were more likely to report symptoms and have abnormal cardiac results., Conclusion: More than a third (36%) of the patients had persistent symptoms 8 weeks after MIS-C, and 5% had abnormal echocardiograms. Older age and higher levels of initial care appeared to be risk factors. Structured follow-up visits are important after MIS-C., (© 2021 The Authors. Acta Paediatrica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation Acta Paediatrica.)

Background and Aim of the Study: Patients with prosthetic aortic valve have an increased risk for aortic dissection, which rises further with growing aortic diameters. Thus, accurate aortic monitoring is required. As transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), the current clinical standard, is frequently restricted to the proximal ascending aorta, the use of two-dimensional cardiovascular magnetic resonance (2D-CMR) in transverse orientation was investigated as a screening tool to assess ascending aortic dimensions., Methods: Fast, non-contrast-enhanced, non-breath-hold, steady-state free-precession (SSFP) sequences (1.5 Tesla, slice thickness 7 mm, gap 1.8 mm, scan time 10-15 s) were applied to image the thorax in transverse planes. To test the accuracy of aortic dimensions obtained in this way, comparison was made to contrast-enhanced three-dimensional MR angiography (3D-MRA) as the 'gold standard' in 30 patients with aortic or aortic valve disease. After validation, transverse 2D-CMR was used to assess ascending aortic dimensions in 65 patients with aortic bioprostheses, and the results were compared to those acquired with TTE., Results: Data acquired with both 2D-CMR and 3D-MRA agreed well when assessing ascending aortic diameters (r = 0.99; p < 0.001; mean difference 0.1 +/- 0.1 cm). In patients with bioprostheses, the image quality was diagnostic in 100% of cases for 2D-CMR, and in 93.4% for TTE. The ascending aortic diameter by 2D-CMR (mean 3.8 +/- 0.5 cm; range: 2.6-5.0 cm) was larger (p < 0.001) than by TTE (3.3 +/- 0.6 cm; range: 2.3-4.9 cm). Aortic dilatation (diameter, indexed by body surface area, > 2.1 cm/m2) was present in 38.5% of 2D-CMR cases and in 11.5% of TTE cases. The intra- and inter-observer variabilities to assess aortic dimensions by 2D-CMR were 2.1 +/- 1.9% and 4.3 +/- 3.7%, respectively., Conclusion: Imaging of the complete thorax in transverse orientation using fast, non-contrast-enhanced SSFP images provided an accurate and reliable approach to screen for aortic dilatation. In patients with aortic bioprostheses, 2D-CMR revealed a high prevalence of aortic dilatation, which was considerably underestimated by TTE.