Consultant Cardiologist: Expert in multimodality non-invasive cardiovascular imaging, Arsenal fan

Joined March 2009
📆 On this day, in 1999, Nwankwo Kanu scored a hat-trick in the final 15 minutes as Arsenal come from 2-0 down to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. ⚽ 75' — Kanu 🇳🇬 ⚽ 83' — Kanu 🇳🇬 ⚽ 90' — Kanu 🇳🇬 🗣️ "KAN-U BELIEVE IT?!"
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A mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa pseudoaneurysm is a rare complication after cardiac surgery. This report describes the diagnosis & surgical management of an MAIVF pseudoaneurysm in a 3-year-old after the resection of a recurrent subaortic membrane. bit.ly/4elxsgo
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WHERE SHOULD YOU PLACE THE LVOT DOPPLER SAMPLE? Calculating aortic valve area using the continuity equation requires an accurate LVOT velocity-time integral (VTI). But a few millimetres can make a difference. 1. Start in the LVOT Use pulsed-wave Doppler and position the sample volume below the aortic valve. 2. Move toward the valve Advance the sample volume gradually toward the aortic valve, observing the spectral waveform. 3. Identify the optimal position As the sample enters the flow acceleration zone, spectral broadening appears. This indicates that the sample is too close to the valve. 4. Move slightly apically Withdraw the sample until spectral broadening disappears and a clear, laminar LVOT signal is obtained. Why does this matter? If the sample is too close to the valve, the measured LVOT VTI may be falsely elevated, causing the calculated aortic valve area to be overestimated. If it is too far into the ventricle, the measurement may not represent the appropriate LVOT flow velocity. Clinical pearl: Correct LVOT sample positioning is essential for reliable grading of aortic stenosis. Reference: ASE recommendations for echocardiographic assessment of aortic stenosis; 2025 ESC/EACTS Guidelines for the Management of Valvular Heart Disease.
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#JACCIMG meta-analysis: Sex matters in valvular heart disease. At the time of primary mitral regurgitation intervention, women are older, have more symptoms, more tricuspid regurgitation, and worse long-term outcomes compared with men. bit.ly/3Uy5GGK #vhdMR #cvVHD
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🚨📺 The way Kate Abdo introduced Micah Richards on CBS Sports... 😂💀 "For now, he is still a Premier League and FA Cup winner... until he has to mail those winners medals back to somebody at Stoke City or Manchester United." 💀
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🫀 Are we measuring pericardial effusions the wrong way? We routinely classify pericardial effusions as small, moderate, or large based on linear measurements. But does a single measurement in millimeters accurately represent the actual volume of pericardial fluid? Study in @JournalASEcho challenges this onlinejase.com/article/S0894… 🔬 245 patients undergoing pericardiocentesis Median drained volume: 500 mL (range 50–4,300 mL) 76.7% had cardiac tamponade Actual drained volume served as the reference standard. 📊 How did different echo methods perform? Between end diastolic thickness, plax and PSAx area- apical 4 chamber Simpson’s volumetric estimation performed the best ✅ Accuracy: 80.4% vs 49.4% Perhaps it is time to rethink how we quantify pericardial effusions! 💡 if volumetric assessment is substantially more accurate, should we move from millimeters to milliliters in routine echocardiography? And more importantly, would this change clinical decision-making—or simply improve the precision of our reports? #EchoFirst #CardioTwitter #CVImaging
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When writing code no longer requires knowing how to code, who is accountable for the software that ends up in the clinical workflow? A new Korean Journal of Radiology paper on vibe coding describes a radiologist building a structured prostate MRI reporting tool in roughly four hours, inside a voluntary, radiologist-led coding community. It also names four cautions: erosion of domain expertise, patient data and security risks, no peer feedback, and tool proliferation. The authors argue the impact depends less on the technology than on how responsibly the specialty adopts it. Where should that line sit between helpful workflow tool and unvetted clinical software? doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2026.091…
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Today @TheLancet published our AMIE study with @BIDMC_Medicine, the first prospective study of patient-facing conversational diagnostics in a real clinic. AMIE is a research system people can chat with before doctors appointments. Testing AMIE outside the lab with real urgent care patients showed how technology can help gather medical histories safely. Clinicians reported that the summaries helped them prepare for visits in 75% of cases and influenced their approach to care in more than half. AMIE’s differential diagnoses also matched the doctors’ final diagnoses 90% of the time giving clinicians more time to focus on patient care. It’s Google’s first-ever paper in The Lancet’s main journal!
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We don't ask whether a model touched their prose. We ask authors to own every word. @JACCJournals parted w/ICMJE & doesn't require disclosure of AI writing help: the rule is unenforceable, biased, & not good for medical communication. My Editor's Page: jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.…
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Great to hear two of my old school peers on a podcast: @MatthewStadlen interviewing @aedmans Some really cool financial / economic insights from a genuine leader in the field who has probably never been called average 😂 podcasts.apple.com/ke/podcas…
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I'm finishing a paper I wrote with my colleagues. I used LLM to help with the abstract, and to improve a few sentences (maybe 5-10 sentences in a 73 pages long paper) in order to increase readability. Pangram says the paper is 63% AI, and this is total BS. I have checked a poem written by Victor Hugo, and it flags as 100% AI! Serious question: what will happen if people/journals/entities start to use these AI detection tools to evaluate our work? Will people be wrongly accused of using AI to their papers? This needs an urgent discussion among academics!
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Looking forward to a great conference. Some fabulous speakers lined up.
Register now for the BNCS Annual Conference 2026 | Wed 2 Dec | Wellcome Collection, London PET & SPECT, amyloid, myocarditis, sarcoid and device infection, and also the Young Investigator Award. £50 for consultants, £25 for everyone else | Includes a year's BNCS membership Programme below👇 millbrook-events.co.uk/event…
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Register now for the BNCS Annual Conference 2026 | Wed 2 Dec | Wellcome Collection, London PET & SPECT, amyloid, myocarditis, sarcoid and device infection, and also the Young Investigator Award. £50 for consultants, £25 for everyone else | Includes a year's BNCS membership Programme below👇 millbrook-events.co.uk/event…
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🤣👏 Kieron Dyer was challenged to sneak as many Michael Jackson song titles as possible into his Southend press conference… And somehow, NOT A SINGLE journalist noticed what he was doing. 😭🤣
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In case you missed it, here are all late-breaking trial results from #ESCCongress
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So… your friend has Parkinson’s. Harrison Ford and Michael J. Fox share advice on how best to be there for someone with Parkinson’s, from navigating changes in handwriting to staying connected and helping counter social isolation. Learn more about how you can help find a cure for Parkinson’s on our website. bit.ly/4xuz8M4
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The 5th Universal Definition of MI is out. Thankfully, no more type 1, 2, 4a, 4b, 5 MI. Simpler and more clinically relevant. Here is my summary on the document: 1. Primary MI. Wider than the old type 1. Atherothrombosis, SCAD, embolism, vasospasm. Stent thrombosis, restenosis, or graft failure past 30 days is now primary, not procedural. 2. Secondary MI. Supply-demand mismatch from another illness. Much stricter now. Demand ischemia plus a troponin bump is not enough. You need obstructive CAD or a new wall motion abnormality. 3. Procedure-related MI. Any cardiac procedure, within 30 days instead of 48 hours. However, we need an angiographic evidence or a new RWMA. Both if it happens during the case itself or the procedure was for an acute MI. Troponin supports the diagnosis but doesn’t make it (>5x URL at 6h for PCI, >35x at 24h for surgery). 4. Type 3 MI is gone. If someone dies, classify by the clinical setting or post-mortem findings. 5. Troponin cutoffs are sex-specific. For high sensitivity troponin, the female upper limit is about half the male. 6. MINOCA is now myocardial injury, not infarction. Non-obstructive means under 50% stenosis. It’s a working diagnosis, since most of these patients turn out to have myocarditis or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. 7. Silent MI has criteria now. Pathological Q waves aren’t enough. Confirm with imaging, ideally CMR with LGE, new RWMA 8. Shouldn’t say typical and atypical pain; rather chest discomfort. Rather, say “chest discomfort.” 9. A whole section on structural. Bottom line, troponin rise after TAVR by itself is no longer an MI. You need the angio finding or new RWMA. @mirvatalasnag
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👉Just published in @NEJM: STAREE Trial ☝️At last, robust randomized evidence on statins for primary prevention in older adults. 🔹 9,971 adults ≥70 years, without cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or dementia 🔹 Atorvastatin 40 mg vs placebo 🔹 Median follow-up: 5.9 years 🔹 Baseline LDL-C: ~127 mg/dL NEJMoa2607314.pdf 👉Key findings: 🔹 30% reduction in major cardiovascular events HR 0.70 (95% CI 0.61–0.82; P<0.001) 🔹 NNT = 37 over 5.9 years 🔹 MI: HR 0.57 🔹 Coronary revascularization: HR 0.57 🔹 Benefit was also observed in participants ≥75 years 👉Importantly: 🔹 No increase in dementia (HR 1.03) 🔹 No significant effect on all-cause mortality 🔹 No improvement in overall disability-free survival 🔹 Serious adverse events were similar between groups. ☝️Bottom line: Age alone should not be a reason to withhold LDL-C lowering. Even in healthy adults ≥70 years, lowering LDL-C translates into substantial cardiovascular benefit. @society_eas @nationallipid 🔗nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NE…
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