Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40183824›Full record

ArticleThe international journal of cardiovascular imaging2025

Advanced cardiac imaging modalities in U.S. heart transplant centers: availability and distribution.

Maria Alwan, Attila Feher, Mahmoud Al Rifai, Ahmed Sayed, Ahmad El Yaman, Asim Shaikh, Mouaz H Al-Mallah

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The international journal of cardiovascular imaging, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Non-invasive imaging in heart transplant recipients: state of art and future direction.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Maria AlwanHouston Methodist Academic Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, 6550 Fannin Street, Smith Tower - Suite 1801, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Attila FeherSection of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Mahmoud Al RifaiHouston Methodist Academic Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, 6550 Fannin Street, Smith Tower - Suite 1801, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Ahmed SayedHouston Methodist Academic Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, 6550 Fannin Street, Smith Tower - Suite 1801, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Ahmad El YamanHouston Methodist Academic Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, 6550 Fannin Street, Smith Tower - Suite 1801, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Asim ShaikhHouston Methodist Academic Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, 6550 Fannin Street, Smith Tower - Suite 1801, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Mouaz H Al-MallahHouston Methodist Academic Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, 6550 Fannin Street, Smith Tower - Suite 1801, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. mal-mallah@houstonmethodist.org.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis study evaluates the availability of advanced imaging modalities, including cardiac computed tomography (CCT), cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), cardiac positron emission tomography (PET), and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)/optical coherence tomography (OCT), at Medicare-approved heart transplant centers across the United States.

methodsWe retrieved the list of Medicare-approved heart transplant centers and data on physicians billing for cardiac imaging procedures from the CMS website. Addresses of billing physicians were matched with those of heart transplant centers to determine the availability of imaging modalities at each center. Additionally, we calculated the number of available imaging modalities and the median volume of studies per center. Further, we mapped heart transplant centers along with their available modalities.

resultsOf 129 Medicare-approved heart transplant centers, 90.7% offered CCT, 85.3% provided CMR, 74.4% had IVUS/OCT, and 55% offered cardiac PET. Only 39.5% of centers had all four modalities available. Geographic disparities were observed, with clustering of centers and modalities in the Northeast and West Coast and fewer centers in the Midwest.

conclusionThis study highlights disparities in the availability of advanced imaging modalities in heart transplant centers across the United States. While CCT and CMR are widely available, the availability of cardiac PET and IVUS/OCT remains limited.

Indexed as

Cardiac Imaging TechniquesHealthcare DisparitiesHealth Services AccessibilityHeart DiseasesHeart TransplantationHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMedicarePositron-Emission TomographyPredictive Value of TestsTomography, Optical CoherenceUltrasonography, InterventionalUnited StatesACR (Acute Cellular Rejection)Cardiac PET (Positron Emission Tomography)CAV (Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy)CCT (Coronary Computed Tomography)CMR (Cardiac Magnetic Resonance)Heart transplant recipientsIVUS (Intravascular Ultrasound)OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography)

Identifiers

PMID40183824

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.