title: Imaging of cardiac venous system in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy by 64-slice computed tomography: comparison between non-ischemic and ischemic etiology.
abstract: It is unknown whether dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) etiology influences cardiac veins (CVs) anatomy. By multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) we studied CVs of 93 patients with normal cardiac function (Group1) and of 99 DCM patients. In the latter we used a standard scanning coronary artery protocol (Group2, n=62) or a protocol specifically tailored to assess CVs in DCM (Group3, n=37). We also performed in all patients invasive coronary angiography. Group 1 had more CVs (83%) vs. DCM patients (72% and 76% in Groups 2 and 3 respectively, p<0.05). Group 2 had a higher percentage of CVs with insufficient imaging quality score (43 out of 224 veins, 19%) vs. Group 1 (6%, p<0.01) and Group 3 (11%, p<0.05) mainly due to low signal/noise ratio (32 out of 43 veins, 74%). Ischemic DCM patients had a lower CVs number (86/135, 64%) vs. both Group 1 patients and vs. non-ischemic DCM. Therefore MDCT is feasible for assessing CVs in DCM using scanning CVs tailored protocols. Ischemic DCM patients have a lower number of CVs compared to normal systolic function or non-ischemic DCM patients.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pontone
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Andreini
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cortinovis
authors.forename: Saima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mushtaq
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bertella
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Annoni
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Formenti
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giraldi
authors.forename: Paolo Della
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Bella
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ballerini
authors.forename: Piergiuseppe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Agostoni
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pepi