Introduction:Silent ischemia is an asymptomatic form of myocardial ischemia, not associated with angina or anginal equivalent symptoms, which can be demonstrated by changes in ECG, left ventricular function, myocardial perfusion, and metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of silent myocardial ischemia in a group of patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis.Methods:A total of 37 patients with asymptomatic carotid plaques, without chest pain or dyspnea, was investigated. These patients were studied for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking, and family history of cardiac disease, and underwent technetium-99 m sestamibi myocardial stress-rest scintigraphy and echo-color Doppler examination of carotid arteries.Results:A statistically significant relationship (P = 0.023) was shown between positive responders and negative responders to scintigraphy test when both were tested for degree of stenosis. This relationship is surprising in view of the small number of patients in our sample. Individuals who had a positive scintigraphy test had a mean stenosis degree of 35% ± 7% compared with a mean of 44% ± 13% for those with a negative test. Specificity of our detection was 81%, with positive and negative predictive values of 60% and 63%, respectively.Conclusion:The present study confirms that carotid atherosclerosis is associated with coronary atherosclerosis and highlights the importance of screening for ischemic heart disease in patients with asymptomatic carotid plaques, considering eventually plaque morphology (symmetry, composition, eccentricity or concentricity of the plaque, etc) for patient stratification.

We describe a case of an incidental finding of diverticulum in a patient presented to the Emergency Department for atypical chest pain, and we analyze the challenging differential diagnosis with aneurysm, pseudoaneurysm, and ventricular cleft.

There is an increasing awareness on the association between mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and sudden cardiac death. Mitral annular disjunction (MAD) is a phenotypic risk feature that can help in risk stratification. We present a case of a 58-year-old woman who experienced an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation interrupted by a direct current-shock. No coronary lesions were documented. Echocardiogram showed myxomatous MVP. Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia have been registered during hospital stay. Interestingly, cardiac magnetic resonance revealed MAD and a late gadolinium enhancement area in inferior wall. Finally, a defibrillator has been implanted. For arrhythmic risk stratification of MVP with MAD, multimodality imaging is the diagnostic tool to find out the disease behind many cardiac arrests of unknown cause.

Purpose of Review Myocardial infarction in the absence of coronary artery disease is caused by a variety of clinical conditions, so it is important to detect the specific causes in order to perform a better prognostic stratification of these patients. The aim of this review is to summarize the most important findings that established the role of CMR (cardiovascular magnetic resonance) to detect the MINOCA (myocardial infarction with non-obstructive arteries) patients and the importance to differentiate them from myocardial infarction patients. Recent Findings The role of CMR is crucial to diagnose the principal diseases involved in MINOCA, as demonstrated. The several MR sequences used in all the MINOCA patients showed different results for all the different causes of MINOCA and, surely, high-resolution MR with gadolinium enhancement has been considered the best method to differentiate the transmural lesions. Summary Another fundamental aspect to be considered is the experience of CMR radiologists, which represent the most important element for the right diagnosis of MINOCA. Surely, in the future, CMR will be the most important technique of choice for MINOCA patients, playing a key role in their management.