EACVI Study on Multimodality Cardiovascular Imaging of Inflammatory Cardiovascular Diseases
Inflammatory Cardiovascular Diseases and Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases (ICARDs) encompass cardiovascular involvement in connective tissue diseases, vasculitis, and primary inflammatory cardiac processes affecting all layers of the heart. ICARDs are associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, independently of traditional risk factors, via multiple pathophysiological mechanisms. Diagnosis and prognosis are challenged by the heterogeneity of clinical presentations. Multimodality cardiovascular imaging - including cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), transthoracic echocardiography, and positron emission tomography (PET) - plays a central role in detecting and characterizing inflammatory involvement, and may offer prognostic insights. Given the limited data on the diagnostic and prognostic utility of these imaging modalities in ICARDs, the EACVI-INFLAME study aims to assess the prevalence of confirmed cardiovascular involvement in patients with suspected or established ICARDs undergoing CMR and/or cardiac PET in a multicentric international cohort.
• Age ≥ 18 years
• Ability to provide informed non-opposition
• Referred for a CMR and/or nuclear imaging exam
∙ AND a suspicion of one of the following ICARDs :
• Suspected Myocarditis (acute or chronic, and whatever the aetiologies)
• Suspected Myocardial Infarction with Non-Obstructive Coronary Arteries (MINOCA)
• Suspected Tako-Tsubo
• Suspected Pericarditis (acute or chronic, and whatever the aetiologies)
• Suspected Connective tissue disease with cardiovascular involvement:
‣ Systemic sclerosis
⁃ Systemic lupus erythematosus
⁃ Antiphospholipid syndrome
⁃ Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
⁃ Rheumatoid arthritis, spondylarthritis
• Suspected Vasculitis with cardiovascular involvement:
‣ Small-vessel vasculitis (ANCA…)
⁃ Large vessel vasculitis (Behcet disease, Takayasu…)
• Suspected Inflammatory disease with cardiovascular involvement:
‣ Sarcoidosis
⁃ Still disease