22.1 Introduction Recently, several minimally invasive approaches for interventional therapy of structural heart diseases have been developed. For example, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an alternative therapeutic option for high-risk patients that serves as an alternative for surgical aortic…
21.1 Introduction Electrophysiology comprises catheter ablations and cardiac implantable electrical devices (CIED) for malconduction and arrhythmia management, prevention of sudden cardiac death, or cardiac resynchronization, and is a rapidly growing field in cardiology. There is an increased clinical use of…
20.1 Introduction A wide variety of diseases can affect the great thoracic arteries. They include entities resulting from long-standing atherosclerotic degeneration (e.g., aortic aneurysms) that as such can go undetected for a prolonged time, as well as diseases presenting with…
18.1 Introduction Pericardial diseases represent a broad range of clinical syndromes and may be present in various associated diseases conveying significant morbidity and mortality [ , ]. The evaluation of pericardial conditions can be complex, and imaging techniques play a…
17.1 Introduction Cardiac tumours are a rare finding, with an autopsy prevalence of less than 0.5% [ , ]. However, even when pathologically benign, they can fatally compromise cardiac haemodynamics or lead to serious complications such as embolism or arrhythmia…
Aortic root V. Polsani X. Zhou M. Vannan Marcus Heart Valve Center, Piedmont Heart Institute, Atlanta, GA, USA Chinese PLA General Hospital Echocardiography has an established role in the morphological and hemodynamic assessment of the disorders of aortic root; hence, this section will…
15.1 Arterial systemic hypertension Arterial systemic hypertension is a well established, leading cardiovascular (CV) risk factor for morbidity and mortality in the general population. Myocardial infarction, heart failure, and sudden death are the main fatal and non-fatal complications in hypertensive…
13.1 Introduction 13.1.1 Definition and spectrum of disease The term cardiomyopathy refers to a diverse range of diseases of the heart muscle associated with mechanical and/or electrical dysfunction [ ]. These conditions are of particular importance due to their propensity…
12.1 Introduction Heart failure (HF) is a growing problem worldwide. Almost 6 million Americans and 15 million Europeans have HF [ , ]. Normal ventricular function requires coordinated electrical activation and contraction but also appropriate pre- and after-loads. Given the…
10.1 Introduction Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is defined as death of the myocytes (myocardial necrosis) in a clinical setting consistent with acute myocardial ischemia [ ]. Echocardiography, nuclear imaging techniques, CMR, and CT play an important role in detecting and…