A large number of MPI implementations are currently available, each of which emphasize different aspects of high-performance computing or are intended to solve a specific research problem. The result is a myriad of incompatible MPI implementations, all of which require separate installation, and the combination of which present significant logistical challenges for end users. Building upon prio...

BACKGROUND Pericardial fat has been implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity-related cardiovascular disease. Proposed mechanisms may be relevant in right heart failure, but relationships between pericardial fat and right ventricular (RV) morphology have not been explored. METHODS The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis is a prospective cohort that enrolled participants without clinical car...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to determine the utility of quantitation of right ventricular (RV) function in predicting RV failure in patients undergoing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. BACKGROUND Clinical evaluation alone seems insufficient for predicting RV failure, an important cause of morbidity and mortality after LVAD implantation. METHODS Clinical, hemodynamic, and...

In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), right ventricular (RV) adaptation is essential to overcome the chronic increases in RV pressure overload. Ultimately, RV compensatory mechanisms are not sufficient and patients succumb to RV failure. The processes underlying the transition of RV adaptation to RV failure are not well understood. In this review, we propose that important insights in RV ad...

The rendezvous approach is a salvage technique after failure of endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC). In certain circumstances, percutaneous-endoscopic rendezvous (PE-RV) is preferred, and endoscopic ultrasound-guided rendezvous (EUS-RV) is difficult to perform. We aimed to evaluate PE-RV outcomes, describe the PE-RV techniques, and identify potential indications for PE-RV over EUS-RV.Re...

BACKGROUND Older adults are often excluded from clinical trials. Decision making for administration of statins to older patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is under debate, particularly in frail older patients with comorbidity and high mortality risk. We tested the hypothesis that statin treatment in older patients with DM was differentially effective across strata of mortality risk assessed b...

a discrete mibi avid lung lesion was found in cinematic views of myocardial perfusion imaging (mpi) of a 59 year-old woman. interestingly, the abnormal uptake in the lung was detectable only in the rest phase images and not in the images acquired in the stress phase. mpi was performed for pre-operation cardiac risk assessment before correction surgery for spinal canal stenosis.  she had no past...

BACKGROUND The development of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients is associated with adverse outcome, so that the assessment of RV function has become increasingly important in the management of such patients. The present objective was to test the hypothesis that RV free-wall longitudinal speckle-tracking strain (RV-free), an independent echocardiographic ...