OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of heart rate (HR) on myocardial function assessed by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) in healthy dogs. ANIMALS: Thirteen healthy beagle dogs. METHODS: Animals were anesthetized and HR was controlled with right atrial pacing. Myocardial function of each dog was ...

[This corrects the article on p. 165 in vol. 28, PMID: 23525523.].

The purpose of this study was to evaluate normal values for regional and global myocardial wall motion parameters in young and elderly individuals, as detected by navigator gated high temporal resolution tissue phase mapping. Radial, longitudinal and circumferential ventricular wall motion, as well as ventricular torsion and longitudinal strain rates, ...

Segmental testicular infarction can mimic testicular carcinoma on sonography and can lead to unnecessary orchiectomy. This case series describes and correlates sonographic and histologic findings of 7 pathologically proven segmental testicular infarction cases. Segmental testicular infarction should be suspected on sonography when a geographic lesion with low or mixed echogenicity ...

Isolated floccular infarction is extremely rare, and impairments of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) have not been explored in humans with isolated floccular lesions. The purpose of this study was to examine and report selective impairment of VOR in response to high acceleration using head impulse in a patient with isolated ...

PURPOSE: In acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), there is a direct relationship between myocardial damage and consequent left ventricular (LV) functional impairment. It is however unclear whether there is a safety threshold below which infarct size does not significantly affect LV ejection fraction (EF). ...

Epididymitis is common, presenting indolently with unilateral scrotal pain and swelling. Diagnosis is based on clinical assessment and resolves with antibiotic therapy. Recognized complications are abscess formation and segmental infarction. Global testicular infarction is rare. Diagnosis is important and requires surgical management. On grayscale sonography, global infarction may be difficult ...

Testicular infarction is an uncommon finding in paediatric age and is usually due to testicular torsion or trauma causing venous rupture with thrombosis and/or arteriolar obstruction. Other causes of segmental infarction of the testes are represented by polyarteritis nodosa, thromboangioiitis obliterans and hypersensitivity angiitis. A few cases of testicular infarction ...

Silent brain infarctions are the silent cerebrovascular events that are distinguished from symptomatic lacunar infarctions by their 'silence'; the origin of these infarctions is still unclear. This study analyzed the characteristics of silent and symptomatic lacunar infarctions and sought to explore the mechanism of this 'silence'. In total, 156 patients ...

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular torsional motion plays an important role for effective pump function. However, noninvasive clinical assessment of torsional deformations by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) has not been reported. HYPOTHESIS: Left ventricular torsion is determined by the native orientation of the helical ...

A three-month-old boy was referred to our facility for the treatment of a right impalpable testis, left inguinal hernia, and penoscrotal hypospadias with asymmetric external genitalia. The left gonad was palpated in the left scrotum. The chromosomal study revealed a normal male 46, XY karyotype. Operative findings showed that the ...

Reverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling (>10 % reduction in LV end-systolic volume) may occur in patients recovering for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), undergoing percutaneous revascularization of infarct-related coronary artery (PCI). To detect whether LV global torsion obtained by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography was predictive of reverse LV remodeling, 75 patients with ...

INTRODUCTION: Due to limitations in measuring the torsion angle in the short-axis view when studying through-plane motion and so it is dependent on reference levels, in this study, we follow myocardial movement along the long-axis of the left ventricle (LV). Then, LV torsion is estimated in the long-axis view and ...

Myocardial infarction in patients with normal coronary vessels is a relatively rare entity that is observed in up to 2.8% of patients with myocardial infarction. In this case, we present a patient in whom presence of thrombus was suspected by pressure damping during engagement of the right coronary ostium despite ...

Magnetic resonance tagging is used to evaluate the dynamic deformation of lines or grids superimposed on the myocardium during the cardiac cycle. From these data, a specific postprocessing procedure provides two kinds of metrics: (a) three orthogonal components of myocardial motion (longitudinal, circumferential, and radial), and (b) rotation and torsion. ...

Cardiac dysfunction is a primary cause of patient mortality in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, potentially related to elevated cytosolic calcium. However, the regional versus global functional consequences of cellular calcium mishandling have not been defined in the whole heart. Here we sought for the first time to elucidate potential regional dependencies ...

Current evidence suggests cardiac involvement and electrocardiographic changes of increasing frequency with age in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2). Myocyte hypertrophy with concurrent fibrosis seems to be the anatomical correlate. Moreover, morphological and functional changes indicative of subclinical cardiomyopathy have been demonstrated by means of cardiac magnetic resonance ...

BACKGROUND: Patients with DM are at risk for atrioventricular block and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Non-invasive detection of diffuse myocardial fibrosis may improve disease management in this population. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to define functional and post-contrast myocardial T1 time cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) characteristics in myotonic muscular dystrophy (DM) ...

Identification of new molecular targets in heart failure could ultimately have a substantial positive impact on both the health and financial aspects of treating the large heart failure population. We originally identified reduced levels of the cell junction protein claudin-5 specifically in heart in the dystrophin/utrophin-deficient (Dmd(mdx);Utrn(-/-)) mouse model of ...

Cardiac abnormalities in Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD) are often detected in adult patients and their early detection is warranted. Studies have suggested that myocardial damage may be detected by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging or by echocardiography at the early stage of DMD. We aimed to identify early changes of cardiac ...

Cardiomyopathy is an almost universal finding in boys affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Myocardial changes, as a result of the lack of dystrophin, consist of cell membrane degradation, interstitial inflammation, fatty replacement and fibrosis. Dystrophinopathic cardiomyopathy generally starts as a preclinical or intermediate stage, with evolution toward advanced stages ...

OBJECTIVE: To report morphologic findings associated with laryngoplasty failure in a horse. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical report. ANIMALS: A 9-year-old Thoroughbred cross gelding. METHODS: Necropsy and histopathology were performed on a horse that died peracutely during anesthetic recovery after correction of a right dorsal displacement of the ascending colon. Three weeks ...

Among the animal models of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the Golden Retriever Muscular Dystrophy (GRMD) dog is considered the best model in terms of size and pathological onset of the disease. As in human patients presenting with DMD or Becker muscular dystrophies (BMD), the GRMD is related to a spontaneous ...

Coronary sinus (CS) has muscular connections with atria and is often targeted to complete left atrial ablation for curing atrial fibrillation; however, complete CS isolation is difficult to achieve with hard end points. We present a distinctive case of complete isolation of CS that had an unusual muscular connection. (PACE ...

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous heart muscle disorder associated with ventricular arrhythmias and risk of sudden death. The disease is heredo-familial, and mutations in desmosomal genes have been identified in about half of patients. Recent experimental models confirm this disease develops after birth due ...

The safety of percutaneous transapical mitral paravalvular leak (PVL) closure could potentially be enhanced by device closure of the ventricular access site. Percutaneous transapical PVL closure was performed. The 9F delivery sheath was pulled back, and a 6-mm Amplatzer muscular ventricular septal defect occluder was deployed at the apical puncture ...

Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) is an inherited disorder affecting skeletal and cardiac muscles and characterized by muscular atrophy, contractures, and cardiomyopathy with conduction defects. It can be X-linked or autosomal. Not all patients with EDMD develop heart involvement, but heart disease associated with EDMD can be unpredictable and may be ...

We present the case of a 48-year-old female carrier of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) with repeatedly documented levels of elevated troponin T without arguments for cardiac ischaemia. Elevated levels of troponin T are frequently reported in DMD patients and may function as a useful cardiac index to assess dystrophic degeneration ...

Sinus tachycardia is common in cases of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The authors hypothesized that an elevated heart rate would herald cardiomyopathy onset. A retrospective case-control study was performed with 55 DMD boys and 150 age-matched control boys. The variables were age, heart rate, shortening fraction, and left ventricular end-diastolic ...

BACKGROUND: Arrhythmias determine life expectancy in patients with hereditary myopathies. AIMS: The aim of this study was to summarize recent advances in the diagnosis and management of arrhythmias in hereditary myopathies. METHODS: Literature search via PubMed and inclusion of own experiences were performed. RESULTS: All types of arrhythmias can be ...

Background: The incidence of muscular ventricular septal defect (VSD) in children is rare, but its prevalence among hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients is surprisingly high. Methods: We present a 24-year-old female with HCM associated with muscular VSD without significant symptoms or hemodynamic implications. Conclusion: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging plays an important ...

Cardiac involvement in Duchenne muscular dystrophy is asymptomatic until function is severely affected. Little is known about its evolution, and few animal models are available to study potential treatments. We therefore examined cardiac function and pathology in mdx/utrn(-/-) dystrophin/utrophin-deficient mice. Decreased left ventricular fractional shortening and ejection fraction, as well ...

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a leading genetic cause of infantile death. Loss of a gene called Survival Motor Neuron 1 (SMN1) and, as a result, reduced levels of the Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) protein leads to SMA development. SMA is characterized by the loss of functional motor neurons in ...

Objective:  To predict left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and the timing to perform echocardiography in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), we developed a scoring system using clinical parameters and examined its efficacy. Background:  It is indispensable to utilize echocardiogram for evaluating myocardial damage of DMD patients, but there is no ...

A patient who develops hypotension or angina pectoris after intravenous inotropic agents should be assessed for dynamic left ventricular outflow obstruction or the presence of a muscular bridge. In this case report, we present a patient with low ejection fraction who developed hypotension and angina pectoris with inotropic therapy after ...

Spinal cord infarction is much rarer than cerebral stroke, but its early recognition is important as it may signify serious aortic conditions. The most frequent type is anterior spinal artery syndrome, presenting with bilateral weakness (usually paraparesis), impairment of spinothalamic sensation and preservation of deep sensation. Depending on its level, ...

Left ventricular (LV) remodeling following myocardial infarction (MI) is the result of complex interactions between various factors, including presence or absence of early revascularization. The impact of early revascularization on the relationship between infarct tissue characteristics and LV remodeling is incompletely known. Therefore, we investigated in patients with versus without ...

A case is reported of myocardial infarction occurring following sclerotherapy for varicose veins in a patient with a patent foramen ovale (PFO). It is believed that microemboli crossed the PFO as a result of the procedure and caused coronary artery embolisation, resulting in the symptoms, electrocardiographic and biochemical evidence of ...

Myotonic dystrophy (MD) is a neuromuscular disorder of autosomal dominant inheritance, which is categorized by 2 main sub-types: type 1 (MD1) and type 2 (MD2). This disease is characterized by myotonia and various multisytemic complications, most commonly of the cardiac, endocrine, and central nervous systems. In addition, cardiac abnormalities contribute ...

We report a case that developed watershed infarcts after undergoing carotid endarterectomy. Our patient had been having episodes of transient ischaemic attacks before admission. Carotid Doppler scan before admission showed severe unilateral carotid stenosis on left side. She underwent a carotid endarterectomy procedure. Her continuous blood pressure monitoring stayed normal ...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive and fatal disease of muscle wasting caused by loss of the cytoskeletal protein dystrophin. In the heart, DMD results in progressive cardiomyopathy and dilation of the left ventricle through mechanisms that are not fully understood. Previous reports have shown that loss of dystrophin ...

The mdx mouse has proven to be useful in understanding the cardiomyopathy that frequently occurs in muscular dystrophy patients. Here we employed a comprehensive array of clinically relevant in vivo MRI techniques to identify early markers of cardiac dysfunction and follow disease progression in the hearts of mdx mice. Serial ...

AimsAtrial Preference Pacing (APP) is a pacemaker (PM) algorithm that supports a continuous atrial stimulation instead of a spontaneous atrial rhythm to prevent supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. The role of the APP in the prevention of atrial fibrillation (AF) is still controversial. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect ...

The spinal muscular atrophies (SMAs) include a group of disorders characterized by progressive weakness of the lower motor neurons. Several types of SMAs have been described based on age onset of clinical features: Acute infantile (SMA type I), chronic infantile (SMA type II), chronic juvenile (SMA type III), and adult ...

Richard Lower, in 1669, first described the tubercle that now bears his name, calling it the intervenous tubercle located between the fossa ovalis and the superior vena cava. The aim of the study was to confirm the existence of the tubercle as described initially by Lower, adding details of its ...

Percutaneous closure of perimembranous and muscular ventricular septal defects is becoming well established worldwide. We present the case of a 15-year-old girl with postoperative tetrology of Fallot and a residual ventricular septal defect that was closed with Amplatzer device complicated by early device migration and severe tricuspid valve obstruction.

Complex muscular ventricular septal defect poses difficult surgical management and is associated with high morbidity and mortality despite advancements in surgical therapy. Device closure of muscular ventricular septal defect has been encouraging and has been used in hybrid approach at a few centres. However, device closure has some limitations in ...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker muscular dystrophy are X-linked disorders that result from a mutation in the dystrophin gene that reduces the production or effectiveness of the protein dystrophin. These disorders are clinically characterized by progressive muscle degeneration. Manifesting female carriers are generally not identified as such until after puberty, ...

OBJECTIVE: The 3-bp deletion in exon 2 of the Lamin A/C (LMNA) gene has not been described in association with dilated cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by progressive heart failure, atrioventricular (AV) block, tachyarrhythmias, and variable skeletal muscle involvement. CASE REPORT: In a 43-year-old woman with a long-term history of palpitations ...

Background: Progressive movement limitation in patients with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD) may mask the onset of cardiac involvement. We aimed to determine whether myocardial performance index (MPI), either by conventional Doppler (CD) or tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), could detect subclinical myocardial dysfunction in DMD patients. Furthermore, we assessed the atrial ...