PURPOSE This is a proof-of-principle study investigating the feasibility of using late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI) to detect left atrium (LA) radiation damage. METHODS AND MATERIALS LGE-MRI data were acquired for 7 patients with previous external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) histories. The enhancement in LA scar was delineated and fused to the computed tomogra...

Trypanosoma cruzi is the protozoan parasite that causes Chagas' heart disease, a potentially fatal cardiomyopathy prevalent in Central and South America. Infection with T. cruzi induces cardiac myosin autoimmunity in susceptible humans and mice, and this autoimmunity has been suggested to contribute to cardiac inflammation. To address how T. cruzi induces cardiac myosin autoimmunity, we investi...

Background Despite different aetiology of myocardial damage in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and ischaemic cardiomyopathy (IHD), cardiac remodelling occurs in both, culminating in the end result of a dilated left ventricle with impaired function. Cardiac remodelling is a complex process in which numerous cellular, mechanical and flow processes become deranged. Insights into changes of multidimen...

Optogenetics is a revolutionary technique that enables noninvasive activation of electrically excitable cells. In mammals, heart rate has traditionally been modulated with pharmacological agents or direct stimulation of cardiac tissue with electrodes. However, implanted wires have been known to cause physical damage and damage from electrical currents. Here, we describe a proof of concept to op...

Anthracycline-containing chemotherapy (eg, doxorubicin) is well known to cause dose-dependent, progressive cardiac damage clinically manifest as decreased left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction and, ultimately, heart failure (HF) (Table 1).1,2 Unfortunately, the only clinically accepted method to minimize injury is dose modification and/or therapy discontinuation.3 An important current challen...

Chagas heart disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a potentially fatal cardiomyopathy often associated with cardiac autoimmunity. T. cruzi infection induces the development of autoimmunity to a number of antigens via molecular mimicry and other mechanisms, but the genesis and pathogenic potential of this autoimmune response has not been fully elucidated. To determine w...

Correspondence to: Dr P O Collinson, Department of Chemical Pathology, St George’s Hospital, London SW17 0QT, UK; paul.collinson@ stgeorges.nhs.uk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T he ability to measure the cardiac specific markers, cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) (the cardiac troponins), has produced a paradigm shift in the assessment of patients with susp...

Background The Hypereosinophilic Syndromes (HES) are a heterogeneous group of rare diseases characterized by blood hypereosinophilia and eosinophil-related organ damage with the Churg-Strauss syndrome as the vasculitic form of disease. Cardiac involvement was reported in 20-50% in earlier series. Yet, with improved diagnostic methods, the frequency of cardiac involvement is expected to be even ...