Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the value and accuracy of longitudinal strain in detection of coronary artery disease compared to coronary angiography. Results: The left ventricular longitudinal strain-speckle tracking showed evidence of stenosis of left anterior descending artery, circumflex artery and right coronary artery in (86.1%), (76.4%), and (84.7%) respectively. For the stenosis in left anterior descending artery, the current study showed that the longitudinal strain was a good predictor for presence of significant stenosis with a sensitivity of (93.8%), specificity (75%) and accuracy (91.7%) compared with coronary angiography. For the stenosis in right coronary artery, the left ventricular longitudinal strain had

Background: Non-atherosclerotic spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is defined as a non-traumatic and non-iatrogenic separation of the coronary arterial wall. SCAD is a highly uncommon cause of myocardial infarction (0.1 to 0.4 %).

Case presentation: 40-year-old African American woman, G1T1P0A0L2, with a past medical history of tobacco abuse and obesity who had uncomplicated cesarean section delivery for healthy twins two weeks prior presented with substernal, sudden onset chest pain. The pain radiated to left arm and back, pressure-like, and is associated with nausea, vomiting, and dyspnea.

On examination she was within normal limits except for a well-healed C-section wound. An electrocardiogr

Background: Endothelial dysfunction is thought to be a key event in the development of atherosclerosis. It is a systemic process that simultaneously affects different vascular territories including coronary arteries. It is recommended that noninvasive approaches assessing endothelial function in peripheral vessels like flow mediated dilatation are indirectly representative of coronary vascular function.
Objectives: This study is aimed to assess endothelial dysfunction by using flow mediated dilatation in patients with coronary artery disease
Patients and methods: 82 patients of either sex with an age range of 40-65years are involved in this study. Each patient was subjected to two tests; first test was the flow mediated dilatation

     Background: ¹⁸F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) has established itself in the field of oncology and it is useful in the initial staging and follow-up of a variety of malignancies. Significant thyroid uptake is often identified as an accidental finding on whole-body positron emission tomography for non-thyroid disease.

Aim of this study: to investigate the effect of ¹⁸F-FDG on thyroid gland function after performing PET scan compared to thyroid function prior to scan.

Materials and Methods:  43 subjects who had an ¹⁸F-FDG PET scan as part of a cancer screening program participated in this study. All cancers  are diagnosed using ¹⁸F-FDG, except for prostate cancer,

The typical test for diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, but the chest CT scan might play a complementary role at the first detection of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Objectives: To determine the sensitivity of CT scan on patients with COVID-19 in Al-Najaf, Iraq, and to compare the accuracy of CT scan with that of RT-PCR technique. Material and Method: This is a prospective study. The patients suspicious of having COVID-19 infection and respiratory symptoms were registered. All patients were diagnosed by RT-PCR and chest CT. Diagnostic performance of CT was intended using RT-PCR as the reference sta

Since June 2020, an explosion in number of new COVID-19 patients has been reported in Iraq with a steady increment in new daily reported cases over the next 3 months. The limited number of PCR kits in the country and the increment in the number of new COVID-19 cases makes the role of CT scan examinations rising and becoming essential in aiding the health institutions in diagnosing and isolating infected patients and those in close contacts. This study will review the spectrum of CT pulmonary changes due to COVID-19 infection and estimate the CT severity score index and its relation to age, sex, and PCR test results

Nanomaterials enhance the performance of both asphalt binders and asphalt mixtures. They also improve asphalt durability, which reduces resource consumption and environmental impact in the long term associated with the production and transportation of asphalt materials. Thus, this paper studies the effectiveness of Nano Calcium Carbonate (Nano CaCO3) and Nano Hydrated Lime (NHL) as modifiers and examines their impact on ranges from 0% to 10% through comprehensive laboratory tests. Softening point, penetration, storage stability, viscosity, and mass loss due to short-term aging using the Rolling Thin Film Oven Test (RTFO) were performed on asphalt binders. Results indicated a significant improvement in binder stiffness, particularly

Background: Retrograde Cardioplegia is a widespread method for myocardial protection in coronary bypass surgery and to abroad range of open heart surgical procedures in addition to antigrade Cardioplegia,
Objectives: Is to evaluate the use of retrograde cardioplegia and its advantages in coronary bypass surgery at Ibn Al-Nafees Teaching Hospital, Department of Cardiac Surgery,
Patients and methods: This is a retrospective study that was conducted at Ibn Al-Nafees Teaching Hospital from the first of January to the first of October 2015, fifty patients with coronary artery dieses were admitted to the hospital and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery was done under cardiopulmonary bypass using retrograde cardioplegic canula thr

Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the hard palate bone density and thickness during 3rd and 4th decades and their relationships with body mass index (BMI) and compositions, to allow more accurate mini-implant placement. Materials and method: Computed tomographic (CT) images were obtained for 60 patients (30 males and 30 females) with age range 20-39 years. The hard palate bone density and thickness were measured at 20 sites at the intersection of five anterioposterior and four mediolateral reference lines with 6 and 3 mm intervals from incisive foramen and mid-palatal suture respectively. Diagnostic scale operates according to the bioelectric impedance analysis principle was used to measure body weight; percentages of body fa

Background: Coronary atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease, caused by high concentrations of plasma cholesterol, in particular those with high concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which considered as one of the principal risk factors for atherosclerosis.
Objective: The study focused on detecting risk factors and biomarkers for coronary atherosclerotic in order to develop interventions preventing their progressions.
Patients and Methods: The present case control study was carried out between December 2012 and May 2013, in Hawler cardiac center, 74 coronary atherosclerotic patients were enrolled in our study (44 males and 30 females), their age ranged between 30 years to 75 years old, 25 (33.8%) were type 2 dia