Dalia Ahmed

The role of myocardial viability in contemporary cardiac practice

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) remains the single most common cause of death worldwide. Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a major sequel of coronary artery disease. The economic health burden of IHD is substantial. In patients with old myocardial infarction (OMI), the extent of viable myocardium (VM) directly affects the short- and long-term outcome. There is a considerable collection of observational data showing substantial improvement in patients with significant left ventricular dysfunction when the need for revascularization is guided by preoperative assessment of viability and hibernation. However, a major challenge for present cardiovascular imaging is to identify better ways to assess viable but inadequately perfused myocardium and thus optimize selection of patients for coronary revascularization. Several non-invasive techniques have been developed to detect signs of viability. Hence, our aim is to provide the reader a state-of-the art review for the assessment of myocardial viability.

INCREMENTAL PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF CORONARY CALCIUM SCORING IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING 82-RUBIDIUM MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION IMAGING

Introduction: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score and hyperaemic myocardial blood flow (HMBF) have been associated with clinical outcomes. The aim of this analysis is to determine the incremental prognostic value of CAC over HMBF in the prediction of cardiac events. Methods: A total of 2,060