Cinematic Rendering of Single Ventricle Congenital Heart Disease and Body-Pulmonary Collateral Circulation

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J INVASIVE CARDIOL 2025. doi:10.25270/jic/25.00228. Epub August 27, 2025.

A 40-year-old woman presented to the hospital with recurrent chest pain and dyspnea. Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and cinematic rendering showed the dual inlets of a single ventricle with the right and left atria converging into the single ventricle (Figure A-C; Videos 1 and 2). CCTA and cinematic rendering also showed dual outlets of a single ventricle with the aorta and pulmonary artery emanating from the single ventricle (Figure D-F). CCTA maximal intensity projection and cinematic rendering revealed multiple vessels of the aortic arch and descending aorta connected to the pulmonary arteries and the formation of body-pulmonary collateral circulation (Figure G-H). The patient was finally diagnosed with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) with single ventricle type A and body-pulmonary collateral circulation; she also had DeBakey type I aortic dissection. The patient and her family refused further treatment.

Single-ventricle congenital heart disease is a rare and complex congenital heart malformation that accounts for approximately 1% to 2% of CHD cases.^1,2 In patients with single-ventricle CHD, blood from the body circulation mixes with the pulmonary circulation in the ventricles, resulting in single-ventricle blood-volume overload and early onset of heart failure. Surgery is the primary treatment for patients with single-ventricle CHD.³ Cinematic rendering based on CCTA not only accurately diagnoses the type and size of the single ventricle, clearly shows the connection of different blood vessels to the single ventricle, and determines whether they are combined with other cardiac malformations—thus comprehensively evaluating the conditions of single ventricle—but also provides important guidance for surgical planning and prognosis assessment.

Qian Wang, MD¹; Yao Ma, MD²; Xuepeng Yan, MS³; Rui Guo, MS³

From the ¹Department of Radiology, Xinjiang Cardio-Cerebral-vascular Disease Hospital/Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital Xinjiang Hospital, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China; ²Department of Ultrasound, Xinjiang Cardio-Cerebral-vascular Disease Hospital/Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital Xinjiang Hospital, Xinjiang, Urumqi, China; ³Imaging Center, The First People’s Hospital of Aksu District in Xinjiang, Aksu, Xinjiang, China.

Acknowledgments: The authors wish to thank Siemens Healthineers engineer Xiaocun Li, BS, for his support in cinematic rendering technology.

Disclosures: The authors report no financial relationships or conflicts of interest regarding the content herein.

Consent statement: The informed consent was obtained from the patient for this study.

Address for correspondence: Yao Ma, MD, Department of Ultrasound, Xinjiang Cardio-Cerebral-vascular Disease Hospital/Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital Xinjiang Hospital, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China. Email: sammilulu@163.com