American heart journal
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American heart journal · May 2007
Comparative StudyDetection of pulmonary vein stenosis by transesophageal echocardiography: comparison with multidetector computed tomography.
The objective of this study is to compare the use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) vs multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for detecting pulmonary vein stenosis. ⋯ Transesophageal echocardiography was able to detect most pulmonary veins with good sensitivity and specificity in comparison to MDCT. Pulmonary veins may be visualized more frequently by MDCT; however, TEE provides additional data about the functional significance of a pulmonary vein stenosis.
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American heart journal · May 2007
Comparative StudyRelationship and prognostic value of coronary artery calcification by electron beam computed tomography to stress-induced ischemia by single photon emission computed tomography.
Stress single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is commonly performed in patients with abnormal electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) to define risk stratification, but the published prognostic data for patients undergoing both SPECT and EBCT are limited. The objective of the study was to examine the association and prognostic value between EBCT, coronary artery calcium score (CACS), and stress SPECT imaging. ⋯ In selected patients undergoing both EBCT and SPECT, CACS is weakly correlated with SPECT SSS, likely reflecting the different information provided by EBCT and SPECT. Coronary artery calcium score is independently associated with high-risk SPECT after adjustment for clinical variables. Coronary artery calcium score and SSS are complementary for the prediction of mortality in symptomatic patients. Only CACS predicted mortality in the asymptomatic patients, but they had a low annual mortality.