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Diagnostics
Special Issues
Cardiovascular Diseases: Advances in Echocardiography and Cardiac Computed Tomography
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Cardiovascular Diseases: Advances in Echocardiography and Cardiac Computed Tomography

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 639

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Vasileios Kamperidis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
First Cardiology Department, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AHEPA University Hospital, 544 53 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: heart failure; echocardiography; valvular heart disease; strain imaging; cardiac computed tomography; atherosclerosis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Echocardiography and cardiac computed tomography angiography (CTA) are two leading imaging modalities with an expanding role in the diagnosis and risk stratification of cardiovascular diseases. Echocardiography remains the cornerstone imaging modality for the assessment of heart failure and valvular heart disease. Beyond classical 2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography, cutting-edge echocardiographic techniques such as speckle-tracking echocardiography and 3-dimensional echocardiography are being integrated into clinical practice, allowing for greater diagnostic accuracy and a more comprehensive assessment of disease. Coronary CTA is established as the imaging modality of choice for the assessment of patients with a low-to-moderate pre-test likelihood of obstructive coronary artery disease, while the coronary artery calcium score has been recognized as a diagnostic tool to help reclassify risk for patients with a low pre-test likelihood. Beyond these roles, emerging aspects of coronary CTA are gaining attention, including the noninvasive quantification and characterization of coronary atherosclerosis with the use of quantitative coronary plaque analysis, the assessment of ischemia with CT myocardial perfusion analysis, and the hemodynamic assessment of coronary artery stenosis with CT fractional flow reserve. This Special Issue invites original research articles, case studies, case reports, and reviews that highlight novel aspects and clinical applications of echocardiography or cardiac CTA, with the aim of publishing high-quality scientific articles that ultimately optimize the diagnosis, risk stratification, and care of patients with cardiovascular disease.

Sincerely,

Dr. Vasileios Kamperidis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • heart failure
  • echocardiography
  • valvular heart disease
  • strain imaging
  • cardiac computed tomography
  • atherosclerosis
  • cardiomyopathy
  • 3D imaging
  • coronary artery disease
  • CT FFR
  • perfusion imaging
  • stress echocardiography
  • TEE

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 1872 KB  
Article
Coronary Artery Inflammation and Epicardial Adipose Tissue Volume in Relation with Atrial Fibrillation Development
by Renáta Gerculy, Imre Benedek, István Kovács, Nóra Rat, Ioana-Patricia Rodean, Botond Barna Mátyás, Emanuel Blîndu, Delia Păcurar, Ciprian-Gelu Grigoroaea and Theodora Benedek
Diagnostics 2025, 15(16), 2003; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15162003 - 11 Aug 2025
Viewed by 451
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), atrial dilation, and coronary inflammation, though causality remains unclear. Cardiac computed tomography (CCT) allows for precise quantification of EAT volume and the left atrial volume index (LAVI), along with the calculation [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), atrial dilation, and coronary inflammation, though causality remains unclear. Cardiac computed tomography (CCT) allows for precise quantification of EAT volume and the left atrial volume index (LAVI), along with the calculation of the fat attenuation index (FAI), indicating coronary inflammation. Combined with the Coronary Artery Disease-Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS), these imaging markers may improve AF risk stratification. This study evaluates the association between peri-atrial EAT volumes, LAVI, CAD-RADS, and FAI scores in AF patients using advanced AI platforms. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 122 patients presenting with angina-type pain and a low-to-intermediate likelihood of CAD, who underwent CCT. Patients were divided into two groups based on rhythm status: 42 with AF and 80 without AF. Total EAT, left atrial (LA-EAT), and bi-atrial EAT (BA-EAT) volumes were assessed, along with LAV, CAD-RADS classification, and FAI scores measured using CaRi-Heart® and syngo.via Frontier®. Results: AF patients exhibited significantly higher EAT volumes (total EAT: 231.8 ± 45.85 vs. 153.2 ± 54.14 mL, p < 0.0001; LA-EAT: 23.55 ± 6.44 vs. 15.54 ± 8.49 mL, p < 0.0001; BA-EAT: 50.24 ± 12.69 vs. 39.84 ± 15.70 mL, p = 0.0002) and elevated LAVI values (57.7 ± 11.44 vs. 45.9 ± 12.58 mL/m2, p < 0.0001). ROC analyses confirmed strong diagnostic performance of total EAT (AUC = 0.869), LA-EAT (AUC = 0.776), BA-EAT (AUC = 0.703), and the LAVI (AUC = 0.756). Higher CAD-RADS categories (2–5) were more frequent in AF, although significant differences were observed only in the lowest category (0–1; 26.2% AF vs. 47.8% non-AF, p = 0.032). Total FAI scores were also higher in AF patients (14.83 ± 10.16 vs. 12.37 ± 7.89, p = 0.044). Conclusions: Increased EAT volumes, an elevated LAVI, and higher FAI scores are significantly associated with AF, suggesting a combined structural and inflammatory substrate. EAT, the LAVI, the FAI, and CAD-RADS collectively represent valuable non-invasive imaging biomarkers for early AF risk assessment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cardiovascular Diseases: Advances in Echocardiography and Cardiac Computed Tomography)
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