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Starting a New Phase for SCMR |
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
In the last 1.5 years SCMR has really risen to the challenges of the pandemic, navigating stormy waters but continuing to strive in advancing our mission. Despite the challenges, I am proud to share that our Society has grown both in membership, educational offering, and other activities, coupled with very healthy finances.
We wouldn’t have achieved this without the tireless efforts and expert skills of our volunteers and members - thank you!
Also, I would like to thank the team at Talley Management Group for their help and support, as we conclude our 25-year collaboration on June 30. It is thanks to their work and dedication, alongside that of the numerous volunteers that SCMR is where it is today.
As we prepare to welcome on July 1 our new management company AMC from Chicago, SCMR is now ready to plan and execute its next phase: SCMR 2.0 - a new phase for SCMR with a renewed vision and plan to grow our activities, increase our positioning and influence in the medical and scientific community, adding a gear in achieving our mission of advancing patients’ care.
The next few months are going to be critical in developing our new strategy to which everyone at SCMR will be invited to contribute, from the board to committees to our wide membership - we count on your engagement and support on this important process.
I would like to wish you and your family an enjoyable summer / winter in both hemispheres.
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Chiara Bucciarelli-Ducci, CEO SCMR
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Starting July 1, you can reach SCMR Headquarters at +1 847.375.4747 or at the mailing address below. We will continue to receive your emails at [email protected]
8735 W. Higgins Rd., Ste. 300
Chicago, IL 60631
USA
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Committee & Group Updates |
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As Chair of the Publications Committee of SCMR, I am honored to follow in the footsteps of Seth Uretsky and many others who have previously served in this role and have contributed to making our committee and our society successful.
Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, our committee has been busy guiding several documents through peer review, executive committee approval, and ultimately publication in the Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (JCMR). These include a recently published SCMR position statement on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Women With Cardiovascular Disease. Stay tuned for additional documents to come.
A new initiative of the publications committee is to publish a “How do I do …” series. These will be practical documents on how to perform a variety of CMR techniques by authoritative experts. These should serve as a useful resource for the CMR practitioner.
I would like to thank my Vice Chair Declan O’Regan, and our Program Manager Lauren Small, and all of the committee members who have been instrumental to completion of our work. I look forward to our upcoming in-person meeting.
Dipan Shah
Chair, SCMR Publications Committee
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SCMR 24th Annual Scientific Sessions |
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Advisement to SCMR Members Regarding CMR in Myocarditis |
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Rare cases of myocarditis and pericarditis potentially related to certain COVID vaccines have recently been reported. The Vaccine Safety Technical (VaST) Work Group of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and other agencies around the world are investigating these reports.
Importantly, CDC and other international agencies endorse the importance and safety of COVID-19 vaccination for global emergence from the pandemic.
CMR plays a central role in the diagnosis of myocarditis, including in the context of COVID-19 infection, and may aid in diagnosis suspected cases of myocarditis related to COVID vaccination.
In support of these agencies’ efforts, SCMR encourages CMR practitioners to use their relevant regional mechanisms for vaccine adverse event reporting (such as VAERS in the U.S.) to report any suspected cases with CMR findings if obtained. Also, the SCMR registry affords a platform for participating members to share images and clinical data with a global community.
We encourage our members around the world to insure access to CMR for patients with suspected myocarditis, and education of clinical colleagues on accurate evaluation and management of myocarditis with CMR.
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Improved Risk Stratification for Ventricular Arrhythmias and Sudden Death in Patients With Nonischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy |
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Risk stratification for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death in non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) remains suboptimal. Di Marco et al recently published results in JACC of a large retrospective cohort study (n = 1165) investigating the impact of LGE in DCM. LGE presence was found to be a significant, consistent, and strong predictor of VA or sudden death – across all LVEF strata. Specific high-risk LGE distributions were identified - epicardial LGE, transmural LGE, and combined septal and free-wall LGE. A simple algorithm combining LGE and 3 LVEF strata (≤20%, 21-35%, >35%) was significantly superior to LVEF with the 35% cutoff and reclassified the arrhythmic risk of 34% of DCM patients - with relevant implications for ICD allocation. LGE-negative patients with LVEF 21% to 35% had low risk (annual event rate 0.7%), whereas those with high-risk LGE distributions and LVEF >35% had significantly higher risk (annual event rate 3%).
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Matthias Schmitt (senior author), Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust |
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Andrea Di Marco (corresponding author), Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge |
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The complexities of diagnosing MINOCA and INOCA remain challenging. This Siemens Healthineers live webinar will highlight the added value of CMR, CT, and Angio imaging in both acute and chronic ischemia without obstructive coronary arteries. Learn from experts Chiara Bucciarelli-Ducci, MD and Colin Berry, MD about the potential of diagnostic imaging for risk assessment and prognosis in MINOCA and INOCA patients. Register now.
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What caught our cardiac MR eyes this month?
by Manish Motwani, Newsletter Editor
Twitter-based #WhyCMR journal watch 📚⌚ - join the online discussion!
3. Fast-SENC to classify & stratify HF patients…quickly! 🏃♂️⏩💨💚
10. M v F - mortality differences in stable patients after perfusion CMR ♂♀️📈
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Those who wish to be considered should:
- Have web and/or social media experience
- Include a one page cover letter with relevant experience
- Be a member in good standing for five consecutive years (three years for Early Career candidates)
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Pioneering Research Set up to Transform Imaging for Neonates with Congenital Heart Disease in Leeds
Congenital heart disease is one of the most common types of birth defect and whilst survival rates have improved, diagnosis and imaging of newborns can be challenging. Traditionally, CT imaging has often been preferred over MRI, due to reduced acoustic noise and faster scan times, while MRI has necessitated breath holds and patient sedation with the associated risk to infants. The University of Leeds project pushes the boundaries of 4D Flow and cardiac MRI to establish an approach which could provide greater data at a high speed and transform the way imaging is performed on infants.
Acquiring a full set of MRI images which provide both anatomical and functional information, can take up to an hour, however, with the application of the 4D Flow technology from Siemens Healthineers, the project aims to achieve this in under ten minutes without the use of contrast. 4D Flow provides a comprehensive, non-invasive assessment of the heart in just one acquisition, allowing pediatric cardiologists greater insight with potential to predict which patients may need surgery in the future.
Donations led by Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, including Heart Research UK and other generous funders have helped to equip the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit led by Dr Malenka Bissell with innovations designed to optimise scanning infants. The new equipment includes an MRI coil and an MRI safe closed incubator, which reduces the noise the infant is exposed to, allowing scans to take place as the baby sleeps in a safe and comfortable environment – supporting improved diagnostic outcomes. Read more here.
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The Baby MRI incubator at Leeds Congenital Heart Unit (LCHU), is the first of its kind in the UK. It is part of a suite of state-of-the-art equipment providing detailed heart imaging during MRI scans. |
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Dr Malenka Bissell, NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Paediatric Cardiology, pictured with the baby pod.
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Only 2 Days Left to Register! |
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Cine Imaging in Poor Breath Hold Patients
Patients who struggle to hold their breath – we have all imaged them. You speak to your patient, you encourage them to hold their breath, but sometimes, they can’t. Sometimes, they are too sick, or the language barrier is too great.
To help patients understand the breathing instructions, when you position your patient, explain the breathing. Get them to practice the breathing instructions. Assess your patient, do you need to adjust the length of the breath hold? Do you need to change it to inspiration? (Ideally expiration is best, but patients need a work around sometimes.) Can the patient understand you? Do they need you to adapt the language on the scanner to theirs? If you know what language they speak, is it present on your scanner? Can you change the language spoken to Mandarin for example? Or Spanish? If the language isn’t on your scanner, can you perhaps try a different method? Could you say ‘1’ for breath in and hold and ‘2’ for breath normally?
If your patient is too unwell to hold their breath, there are some changes we can make to our sequences. A common tactic at our center is to use a real time cine to acquire the long axis and short axis cines for patients that cannot hold their breath. Or can you adapt your segmented cine and increase your averages? (Take off the breath hold instructions, increase your averages to 4 or 5 and allow the scanner to acquire the scans.) The images can still be qualitatively and quantitatively analysed by the consultants then. The images may not be the greatest, but something is better than nothing, and it can contribute to the patient’s management.
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Online Educational Opportunities |
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Virtual
June 26-27, 2021
Online
October 2-4, 2021
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The SCMR web site hosts “Case of the Week” - a case series designed to present case reports demonstrating the unique attributes of CMR in the diagnosis or management of cardiovascular disease. Each clinical presentation is followed by a brief discussion of the disease and unique role of CMR in disease diagnosis or management guidance. By nature, some of these are somewhat esoteric, but all are instructive. Recently we have published the case archive from 2019 in JCMR as a means of further enhancing the education of those interested in CMR and as a means of archiving this incredible resource from our members on PubMed.
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June 1 to June 20, 2021
#WhyCMR Activity
by Purvi Parwani
Each month our social media committee correspondents update us on the latest #WhyCMR activity stats, most popular tweets or threads. Join the conversation and use the #WhyCMR in your social media posts and follow @SCMRorg!
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Research
Saengsin, et al.
Published on 21th of June 2021
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Research
Seraphim, et al.
Published on 17th of June 2021
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Research
Mikami, et al.
Published on 17th of June 2021
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Research
Park, et al.
Published on 17th of June 2021
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Research
Kondamudi, et al.
Published on 14th of June 2021
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Research
Shi, et al.
Published on 14th of June 2021
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Research
Meloni, et al.
Published on 14th of June 2021
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Study protocol
Gorechka, et al.
Published on 10th of June 2021
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Research
Gu, et al.
Published on 10th of June 2021
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Please use this link for a filtered PubMed list of all CMR-related manuscripts for June 2021 – more than 250 in total!
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Manish Motwani
Newsletter Editor
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Beginning July 1, you can reach SCMR Headquarters at +1 847.375.4747 or at the mailing address below. We will continue to receive your emails at [email protected]
8735 W. Higgins Rd., Ste. 300
Chicago, IL 60631
USA
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