Imaging Early Life Cardiovascular Phenotype

Abstract

The growing epidemics of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, in addition to worsening environmental factors such as air pollution, water scarcity, and climate change, have fueled the continuously increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This has caused a markedly increasing burden of CVDs that includes mortality and morbidity worldwide. Identification of subclinical CVD before overt symptoms can lead to earlier deployment of preventative pharmacological and nonpharmacologic strategies. In this regard, noninvasive imaging techniques play a significant role in identifying early CVD phenotypes. An armamentarium of imaging techniques including vascular ultrasound, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, noninvasive computed tomography angiography, positron emission tomography, and nuclear imaging, with intrinsic strengths and limitations can be utilized to delineate incipient CVD for both clinical and research purposes. In this article, we review the various imaging modalities used for the evaluation, characterization, and quantification of early subclinical cardiovascular diseases.

Introduction to the Compendium on Early Cardiovascular Disease

“…CVH during the prepregnancy period in young adulthood and gestational CVH also seem to have important implications for pregnancy outcomes, offspring health and intergenerational transmission of CVH and CVD risk. Varadarajan et al’s 18 comments on imaging and subclinical CVD—a major area of modern cardiovascular epidemiology targeting early structural-functional phenotypes that presage clinical CVD—remind us of the opportunity for detecting individuals on the fast track for subclinical, and thus clinical, CVD development.…”