BACKGROUND: The extent of viable myocardial tissue is recognized as a major determinant of recovery of left ventricular (LV) function after myocardial infarction. In the current study, the role of global LV strain assessed with novel automated function imaging (AFI) to predict functional recovery after acute infarction was evaluated. METHODS ...

BACKGROUND: The aim was to compare left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular (LV) global strain by speckle tracking as predictors of final infarct size. METHODS: LV global strain and LVEF by echocardiography were assessed in the acute phase and after revascularization in 39 patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction ...

AIMS: The aim of the present study was to assess whether right ventricular (RV) contractility can be used for optimization of the interventricular (VV) interval and to study the acute hemodynamic effect of different VV intervals on right and left ventricular (LV) contractility in patients referred for cardiac resynchronization therapy ...

Depressed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) despite successful reperfusion therapy is the single most powerful predictor of progressive LV enlargement after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and independently determines adverse outcome in these patients. We investigated the effect of intracoronary administration of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMC) within 7 days after ...

Decreased left ventricular (LV) rotation and torsion and even reversed systolic apical rotation have been described in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). We sought to test in patients with DCM whether reversed apical rotation with loss of LV torsion is related to the extent of LV remodelling and to the ...

OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to evaluate a three-dimensional (3D) threshold-based, region-growing segmentation algorithm for the assessment of left ventricular (LV) volumes in cardiac MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two-dimensional cine steady-state free precession short-axis scans (TR 3 milliseconds, TE 1.5 milliseconds, FA 60 degrees , section thickness 8 mm) covering the ...

PURPOSE: To monitor gadolinium pharmacokinetics in the hearts of patients with chronic myocardial infarcts and to determine the variability of contrast agent concentrations and accuracy of infarct detection over an hour time period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients with chronic myocardial infarcts were examined. T1 measurements were performed every 2 ...

Experimental studies have demonstrated the adverse effects of senescence on cardiac function and remodeling after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We sought to assess the impact of age on left ventricular (LV) remodeling and heart failure (HF) after successful primary angioplasty for AMI. A series of 512 consecutive patients underwent 2-dimensional ...

Parameters derived from the relation between RR intervals and left ventricular (LV) performance in atrial fibrillation (AF) have been useful to evaluate systolic LV function. This study investigated the association of these parameters with a history of heart failure. Echocardiography was performed in 107 patients with AF. LV outflow peak ...

OBJECTIVES: The pre-existing compression of the left ventricle in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) could be aggravated by the amplified lung growth after fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion (FETO). Our aim was to document left ventricular (LV) size and function in fetuses with isolated left-sided CDH and to document the effect of ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of perindopril on left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function in patients with stable coronary artery disease who had previously undergone coronary artery bypass graft. METHODS: Thirteen patients (12 male and one female patient) were treated with perindopril ...

We sought to determine the association between myocardial scarring, gender, and survival in patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) and severe systolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction using delayed hyper-enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (DHE-CMR). We studied 339 patients (24% women, mean age 65 +/- 11 years) referred for assessment ...

BACKGROUND: Conduction disturbances and arrhythmias characterize the cardiac feature of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1), and a myocardial involvement has been suggested as part of the cardiac disease. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of novel ultrasonic techniques, such as integrated backscatter (IBS) and color Doppler ...

Hemodialysis (HD)-induced regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMAs) are common in HD patients and driven by ischemia. In nondialysis patients, repeated ischemia leads to chronic reduction in left ventricular (LV) function. HD-induced myocardial ischemia may initiate the same process. We examined the effect of HD-induced repetitive myocardial stunning on global and ...

Although the effects of levosimendan on the left ventricle (LV) have been studied, its effect on left atrial (LA) function is poorly understood, despite its key role in optimizing LV function. To compare the effects of levosimendan and dobutamine on LA and LV function in patients with decompensated heart failure ...

Risk stratification in advanced heart failure (HF) is crucial for the individualization of therapeutic strategy, in particular for heart transplantation and ventricular assist device implantation. We tested the hypothesis that cardiac gene expression profiling can distinguish between HF patients with different disease severity. We obtained tissue samples from both left ...

OBJECTIVES: This study explored the effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on left ventricular (LV) twist, particularly in relation to LV lead position. BACKGROUND: LV twist is emerging as a comprehensive index of LV function. METHODS: Eighty heart failure patients were included. Two-dimensional echocardiography was performed at baseline, immediately after ...

To investigate the effect of intracoronary injection of autologous mononuclear bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) on left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function using standard echocardiography and 2-dimensional systolic strain. A total of 60 patients with first anterior wall STEMI and LV ejection ...

Progressive left ventricular (LV) dysfunction can be a major late complication in patients with chronic right ventricular pressure overload (eg, tetralogy of Fallot). Therefore, we examined LV function (serial echocardiography and ex vivo Langendorff) and histology in a model of infant pressure-load right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH). Ten-day-old rabbits (n=6 per ...

Little is known regarding long-term survival and changes in systolic function following surgery after the occurrence of a severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in patients with severe aortic stenosis. Inclusion criteria were an aortic valve area less than 1 cm(2) and an LV ejection fraction (EF) less than 35%. Between ...

PURPOSE: To assess cardiac structural and functional changes induced by competitive amateur cycling. METHODS: Fifty-one young competitive amateur male cyclists and 47 age- and gender-matched control subjects underwent complex transthoracic echocardiographic examination focused on the detailed assessment of cardiac size and function, especially of the left ventricle (LV). Subsequently, spiroergometry ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence of interventricular and intraventricular asynchrony in patients with different degrees of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. METHODS: We enrolled 182 patients (male 79%, mean age 64 +/- 11 years) with LV ejection fraction (EF) < 50% and identified two groups: ...

BACKGROUND: The mechanics of the complex left ventricular (LV) myocardial fiber architecture may accurately be assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE). The role of STE to assess LV mechanical dysfunction in the setting of ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (AMI) is still poorly studied. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 29 consecutive patients ...

BACKGROUND: Conceptually, an ideal therapeutic agent should target the underlying mechanisms that cause left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction. The objective of our study was to gain further insight into the mechanics of diastology by comparison of LV untwisting measured by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) in young healthy adults with normal ...

BACKGROUND: Quantitative analysis of left-ventricular (LV) aneurysms after myocardial infarction is prognostically relevant and assists in planning surgery. Three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography facilitates clear visualization of cardiac anatomy and accurate assessment of functional parameters. The aim of the present study was to determine the ability of 3D echocardiography to quantify LV ...

We tested whether intra-coronary administration of cyclosporine effectively preserves left ventricular (LV) function in porcine acute anterior wall infarction (AMI). Eighteen male mini-pigs were randomized into groups 1 (control), 2 (AMI alone), and 3 (AMI with cyclosporine treatment). AMI was induced by ligating middle left anterior descending artery (LAD). Fifteen ...

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (3D-STI) has been introduced to assess regional left ventricular (LV) myocardial function. This study was designed to validate LV strain measurements by 3D-STI against data obtained by sonomicrometry. METHODS AND RESULTS: In each of 10 anesthetized sheep, sonomicrometry crystals were implanted on the endocardium and ...

Ghrelin is a novel growth hormone-releasing peptide, which has been shown to exert beneficial cardiac effects on chronic heart failure (CHF) recently. In this study, we attempted to investigate the mechanisms for the effect of ghrelin on ventricular remodeling following acute myocardial infarction (MI). Ligation of a coronary artery was ...

SUMMARY BACKGROUND: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) may be an adaptative remodelling process induced by physical training, or result from pathological stimuli. We hypothesized that different LVH aetiology could lead to dissimilar spatial distribution left ventricular (LV) contraction, and compared different components of LV contraction using 2-dimensional (2-D) speckle tracking derived ...

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether alginate biomaterial can be delivered effectively into the infarcted myocardium by intracoronary injection to prevent left ventricular (LV) remodeling early after myocardial infarction (MI). BACKGROUND: Although injectable biomaterials can improve infarct healing and repair, the feasibility and effectiveness of intracoronary injection have not ...

BACKGROUND: The distribution of left ventricular (LV) fibrosis and the percent fibrosis in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) were evaluated using late gadolinium enhanced (LGE) MRI. Then the relation with the LV ejection fraction (EF) and deceleration time (DT), an index of diastolic function obtained using echocardiography, was investigated. METHODS ...

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that deterioration of systolic left ventricular (LV) myocardial deformation exists as an early sign of "isolated" diastolic heart failure in patients with hypertension (HT) and LV hypertrophy (LVH). METHODS AND RESULTS: Two-dimensional strain echocardiography was performed in 98 patients with HT and 22 age-matched normal controls. The ...

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) requires permanent left ventricular (LV) pacing. Coronary sinus (CS) lead placement is the first line clinical approach but can be difficult or impossible; may suffer from a high LV pacing threshold, phrenic nerve stimulation, and dislodgement; and produces epicardial LV pacing, which is less physiological and ...

A 68-year-old man was referred to our hospital with a left ventricular (LV) mass and obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HOCM). Although he was treated for the LV thrombosis and received anticoagulation therapy, the mass did not decrease in size for three years. His past history was colon cancer which was resected ...

To assess global and regional ventricular function in the presence of myocardial infarction (MI) using cardiac dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) in comparison to magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Fourteen pigs (58.6±8.9kg) were included in this study. In seven animals acute MI was induced by temporary balloon occlusion of the left circumflex ...

BACKGROUND: Conventional right ventricular (RV) apex pacing can lead to adverse clinical outcome associated with asynchronous activation and reduced left ventricular (LV) pump function. We investigated to what extent alternate RV (septum) and LV (septum, apex) pacing sites improve LV electric activation, mechanics, hemodynamic performance, and efficiency over 4 months ...

Since its original description 50 years ago, myocardial ischemia has been a recognized but underappreciated aspect of the pathophysiology of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Nevertheless, the assessment of myocardial ischemia is still not part of routine clinical diagnostic or management strategies. Morphologic abnormalities of the intramural coronary arterioles represent the primary ...

Age and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy are risk factors for the development of LV dysfunction and congestive heart failure. Our goal was to study the relationships of LV mass and age with myocardial dyssynchrony among asymptomatic participants of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. A total of 1100 individuals underwent tagged ...

BACKGROUND: The effects of left ventricular (LV) afterload on longitudinal versus circumferential ventricular mechanics are largely unknown. Our objective was to examine changes in LV deformation before and early after aortic valve replacement (AVR) in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis (AS). METHODS: Paired echocardiographic studies before and early (7 ...

INTRODUCTION: Since altered heart rate (HR) fluctuations provide prognostic information in heart failure, we examined the associations between HR dynamics, myocardial efficiency and perfusion, among patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. METHODS: Sixteen patients with dilated cardiomyopathy were enrolled. Patients received supervised strength and aerobic training for 5 months (n = 9) ...

Surgical ventricular restoration (SVR) can be effective to treat ischaemic cardiomyopathy or left ventricular (LV) aneurysm. However, the initial improvement in LV function does not always last long because of LV remodelling. Beta-blockers prevent LV remodelling of failing hearts; however, their effects following SVR have not been elucidated. Thus, we ...

AIMS: This study aimed to assess the influence of afterload alteration on radial (R) and longitudinal (L) left ventricular (LV) systolic regional functions. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analysed systolic myocardial function by two-dimensional strain (2D-S) and sonomicrometry (SS) in an experimental pig model of aortic banding. Both radial and longitudinal ...

BACKGROUND: Delayed left ventricle (LV)-to-right ventricle (RV) peak shortening results in cardiac output reduction in patients with chronic thromboembolic hypertension (CTEPH) and other types of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Why the synchrony between LV and RV is lost is unknown. We hypothesized that RV electrophysiological remodeling, notably, conduction slowing and action ...

The aim of this study was to clarify the efficacy of intravenous milrinone in postoperative care for patients following left ventricular (LV) restoration (LVR). Fourteen patients who had ischemic cardiomyopathy with an LV ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 0.30 and an LV end-systolic volume index of more than 100 ...

BACKGROUND: Due to eccentric hypertrophy and fibrosis, patients with severe aortic regurgitation (AR) have diastolic dysfunction. Increased fibrosis correlates with increased myocardial stiffness and worsening of diastolic function. Patients with irreversible left ventricular (LV) dysfunction have severe myocardial fibrosis and myocyte apoptosis and do not benefit from aortic valve replacement ...

The choice of the optimal left ventricular (LV) pacing site remains an issue in patients requiring cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). This prospective study compared the outcome of patients paced at the most delayed LV region with that of patients paced at any other LV site. Forty-four patients with severe heart ...

Our laboratory has published the first evidence obtained from fast low-angle-shot cine magnetic resonance imaging (11.7 T) studies demonstrating secondary myocyte death after ischemia/reperfusion (IR) of the murine heart. This work provides the first evidence from 11.7-T magnet-assisted pixel-level analysis of the post-IR murine myocardial infarct patches. Changes in function ...

Trastuzumab prolongs survival in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2-positive breast cancer. Sequential left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) assessment has been mandated to detect myocardial dysfunction because of the risk of heart failure with this treatment. Myocardial deformation imaging is a sensitive means of detecting LV ...

The objective of this study was to determine whether a simple, noninvasive method involving administration of isoproterenol could be used to produce myocardial injury and cardiac dysfunction in the mouse heart with a low incidence of mortality. Adult Swiss-Webster mice were injected with isoproterenol (100 mg/kg SC) once daily for ...

OBJECTIVES: New surgical treatments for post-infarct antero-septal myocardial akinesia have been developed but evaluation of their mode of function is hampered by absence of suitable large animal heart failure models. We aimed to develop and evaluate a human compatible model for chronic post-infarct left ventricular (LV) remodeling. DESIGN: Fourteen female ...