BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular complications are common in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We aimed to investigate left ventricular (LV) function and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in children and adolescents with ESRD. METHODS: This study included 38 ESRD patients (15 hemodialysis and 23 peritoneal dialysis) and 17 age- and sex-matched healthy ...

The aim was to study the prognostic value of left ventricular (LV) function using pulse-wave tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in an ordinary population with heart failure (HF). One hundred fifty-six patients hospitalized for HF and LV ejection fraction < or =40% were examined using conventional echocardiography and pulse-wave TDI for ...

The aim of this trial was to examine the effects of antihypertensive fixed combination of lisinopril plus hydrochlorothiazide (Lopril H, Bosnalijek dd, Bosnia and Herzegovina) on regression of left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with essential arterial hypertension. We included 297 patients in our trial, aged 54.65+/-9.6 years, with treated or ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate systolic and diastolic ventricular functions, aortic elastic properties and the presence of pericardial effusion in familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients. METHODS: A case-controlled, cross-sectional study was performed on 44 FMF patients and 27 controls. Subjects with hypertension, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia were excluded. Left and right ventricular ...

The Doppler echocardiographic restrictive mitral filling pattern (RFP) is an important prognostic indicator in patients with heart failure (HF), but the interaction between RFP, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and filling pattern remains uncertain. To determine whether the RFP is predictive of mortality independently of LVEF in patients with HF. ...

OBJECTIVE: As there are few reports on the clinical results of off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) in patients with poor left ventricular (LV) function, the safety and efficacy of OPCAB surgery in such patients remains unclear. METHODS: From January 2002 to May 2007, a total of 519 consecutive patients underwent ...

BACKGROUND: Although an autoimmune mechanism has been postulated for myocarditis and acute-onset inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), immunomodulatory treatment strategies are still under investigation. METHODS AND RESULTS: The clinical data of six patients with acute inflammatory DCM referred for evaluation for possible heart transplantation were reviewed. All patients were admitted with ...

BACKGROUND: Mechanical left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony impairs cardiac function in patients with heart failure and LV hypertrophy (LVH) and may be a factor contributing to the high incidence of cardiac deaths in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Objectives. To evaluate the possible presence of LV dyssynchrony in ESRD patients, ...

BACKGROUND: Patients on long-term hemodialysis become deficient in carnitine and are frequently treated with carnitine supplementation to offset their renal anemia, lipid abnormality and cardiac dysfunction. The therapeutic value of carnitine supplementation on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with normal cardiac systolic function remains uncertain. METHODS AND RESULTS: The ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of primary cardiac complications in a large population of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), using recently developed echocardiographic techniques. METHODS: We prospectively studied 100 consecutive patients (mean +/- SD age 54 +/- 14 years; 86 women) presenting with SSc without pulmonary arterial hypertension or clinical ...

Significant systolic improvement and reverse remodeling in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are well known, however they have been rarely described among elderly subjects. The authors retrospectively reviewed 86 patients with a diagnosis of DCM seen at a clinic during April-November 2005. The authors found 18 patients with elderly-onset idiopathic DCM (age ...

OBJECTIVES: We compared the frequency of a binary endocardial appearance in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and Anderson-Fabry disease (AFD). BACKGROUND: A recent study suggested that a binary endocardial appearance is a highly sensitive and specific discriminator of AFD from other causes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). METHODS: Fourteen patients with ...

AIMS: Patients suspected of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) frequently undergo echocardiography as a part of the initial work-up. Prognostic implication of routine echocardiography in patients suspected of PE remain to be established. METHODS AND RESULTS: Transthoracic echocardiography, including tissue Doppler imaging, was performed in 283 consecutive patients referred for ventilation/perfusion ...

BACKGROUND: Restrictive mitral filling pattern (RFP), the most severe form of diastolic dysfunction, is a predictor of outcome after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Low power has precluded a definite conclusion on the independent importance of RFP, especially when overall systolic function is preserved. We undertook an individual patient meta-analysis to ...

OBJECTIVE: It is unknown if some patients with cardiac amyloidosis (CA) have mechanical dyssynchrony, as has been demonstrated in patients with ischaemic and dilated cardiomyopathies. The aim of this study was to assess mechanical dyssynchrony in patients with CA using tissue velocity imaging (TVI) and to define its usefulness for ...

AIMS: Ergot-derived dopamine agonists (EDDA) induce fibrotic heart valve disease. We aimed to investigate whether EDDA treatment also affects left ventricular (LV) function. METHODS AND RESULTS: Myocardial function was evaluated in 110 Parkinson patients [mean age (63.4 +/- 9.0 years)] treated for at least 6 months with either EDDA (n ...

OBJECTIVE: Iron overload limits the life expectancy of thalassaemic patients by causing cardiac toxicity. Iron also plays a catalytic role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of (99m)Tc Tetrofosmin gated myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (GMPS) in the detection of cardiac dysfunction in ...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to investigate whether first-line surgery or somatostatin analogs (SSA) have a different outcome on cardiomyopathy after 12 months. DESIGN: This was a retrospective, comparative, nonrandomized study. PATIENTS: Fifty-six patients treated with SSA and 33 operated on by transsphenoidal approach participated in the study. ...

Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) usually show improvements in symptoms, exercise capacity, and hemodynamics after treatment with approved medical therapies. This study sought to determine whether improvement in right-sided cardiac function measured using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging would also be seen and whether these changes would correlate with improvement ...

AIMS: Anderson-Fabry disease affects various organ systems due to glycosphingolipid accumulation. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has been reported to decrease left ventricular wall thickening (LVWT) and to improve diastolic dysfunction. METHODS AND RESULTS: This prospective study included 29 patients (patients; mean age 37 +/- 13 years) with genetically, enzymatically and/or ...

OBJECTIVE: Although impaired diastolic function is common in aortic stenosis (AS), little is known about the clinical usefulness of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) to detect diastolic dysfunction in patients with mild to moderate AS. The objective was to describe both conventional and TDI measurements of diastolic function in asymptomatic patients ...

AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the significance of QRS morphology in determining the prevalence of mechanical dyssynchrony in heart failure (HF) patients considered eligible for cardiac resynchronization. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 200 consecutive HF patients (158 males, mean age 56 +/- 13.5 years) with ...

AIMS: To examine myocardial deformation and rotation in patients with heart failure, and elucidate the underlying mechanisms that account for normal ejection fraction (EF) in patients with diastolic heart failure (DHF). METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty consecutive patients presenting with congestive heart failure (age: 58 +/- 16 years) underwent simultaneous right ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate functional status of patients (Killip class), left ventricular contractility, angiographic anatomy and severity of coronary lesions in patients with and without right bundle branch block (RBBB) in the setting of anterior myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS: Patients who admitted to coronary care unit with the diagnosis of acute ...

A multicenter cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the prevalence of heart failure (HF) and the associated cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in 298 peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients from Argentina and Uruguay, representing almost 30% of the total number of PD patients in the two countries. Bidimensional echocardiography, electrocardiography, and biochemical ...

Discrete upper septal hypertrophy (DUSH) is a well-recognized but poorly understood echocardiographic finding that may indicate localized remodeling modulated by pressure loading or a forme fruste variant of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC). It was hypothesized that (1) a comparison of tissue Doppler indexes of myocardial function in normal patients and ...

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular (LV) thrombus is a known complication of tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy (TC). However, current literature almost exclusively consists of isolated case reports. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and clinical significance of LV thrombus formation in TC. METHODS AND RESULTS: Over a 33-month period 52 ...

BACKGROUND: Patients with severely impaired left ventricular (LV) function often demonstrate prolonged inter- and intraventricular conduction. This prospective study investigates hemodynamic effects and outcomes of perioperative temporary biventricular pacing in patients with heart failure undergoing heart surgery. METHODS: 80 consecutive cardiac surgery patients with a LV ejection fraction below 35 ...

The aim of our study was to compare the applicability of the conventional echocardiography and a novel method, tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in detection of late or subclinical cardiotoxicity following anthracycline chemotherapy in long-term follow up. Forty women (31 to 65 years) were enrolled, who had not received anthracyclines previously ...

The Resynchronization Reverses Remodeling in Systolic Left Ventricular Dysfunction (REVERSE) study is a randomized controlled trial currently assessing the safety and efficacy of cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with asymptomatic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction with previous symptoms of mild heart failure. This paper describes the baseline characteristics of randomized patients; ...

Cardiac resynchronization therapy is an established treatment in patients with symptomatic heart failure and intraventricular conduction delay. Electrical dyssynchrony is typically adopted to represent myocardial activation dyssynchrony, which should be compensated by cardiac resynchronization therapy. One third of the patients, however, does not respond to the therapy. Therefore, imaging modalities ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess left ventricular (LV) function and brain-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in patients with first-time flash pulmonary edema (FPE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied all patients presenting to Mayo Clinic's site in Rochester, MN, from January 5, 2000, to December 30, 2004, with FPE. Only patients with first-time ...

BACKGROUND: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease characterised by vascular changes and immunologically induced fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Systemic sclerosis may be associated with both right (RV) and left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction. AIM: To analyse RV and LV myocardial diastolic function in patients with ...

Alterations in rotational mechanics can bring new aspects to the understanding of left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony. The aims of this study were to investigate LV rotational mechanics in candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and to assess the effect of CRT by speckle-tracking echocardiography. Fifty-four patients with heart failure and ...

BACKGROUND: Isolated left bundle branch block (LBBB) may be an expression of idiopathic cardiomyopathy affecting both ventricles. The present study was conducted to evaluate right ventricular (RV) dimensions and function in asymptomatic LBBB patients with mildly depressed left ventricular (LV) function. METHODS: Fifteen patients with asymptomatic LBBB in whom coronary ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: One of the chief causes of death in patients with beta-thalassemia major (TM) remains heart failure due to iron overload. We investigated possible differences in myocardial function between a population of young asymptomatic patients with TM and healthy controls all of whom underwent an echocardiographic study, including ...

The prevalence and characteristics of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in patients with ventricular arrhythmias, such as premature ventricular complexes and ventricular tachycardia, are unknown. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of SDB in patients with severe ventricular arrhythmias and normal left ventricular (LV) function. Thirty-five patients (63% men, ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess left ventricular (LV) function and the Tei index by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), and also to evaluate the relationship of serum cortisol level with the Tei index and LV function in patients with Cushing's Syndrome (CS). METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 22 ...

BACKGROUND: Afterload is expected to increase with pneumatic compression of the lower extremities. There are left ventricular (LV) wall stress, which is the most important factor determining myocardial oxygen demand, will also increase, leading to an increase in the sensitivity of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) or a shortened time to ...

OBJECTIVE: Severe liver disease is associated with abnormalities in cardiac geometry and function. We aimed to assess the prevalence of these abnormalities and to determine if they represent an adaptation of the heart to the haemodynamic overload associated with liver dysfunction. METHODS: Seventy cirrhotic patients underwent standard Doppler echocardiography, as ...

OBJECTIVE: Epidemiological data suggest there is an increased risk of dying from heart disease among patients with Klinefelter syndrome (KS). Due to high prevalence of hypogonadism and metabolic syndrome, we speculated that patients with KS may have subclinical changes in the left ventricular function. Therefore, the aim was to assess ...

BACKGROUND: In patients with constrictive pericarditis (CP), early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E') is usually normal or exaggerated due to limitation of lateral expansion by the constricting pericardium. Although pericardiectomy is the treatment of choice for CP, it is difficult to evaluate its effectiveness. Theoretically, E' may decrease after successful ...

While left ventricular (LV) restrictive filling pattern is an ominous echocardiographic finding in thalassaemia major (TM), the prognostic significance of right ventricular (RV) diastolic function in patients with TM has not been thoroughly investigated. We studied 45 TM asymptomatic transfusion-dependent patients with normal LV systolic function by Doppler echocardiography. The ...

BACKGROUND: Persistent hypotension with dynamic midventricular obstruction (MVO) in patients with transient left ventricular (LV) apical ballooning (Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy) is an important complication that needs to be treated. PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to determine the effects of intravenous propranolol challenge on MVO in transient LV apical ballooning. ...

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare inherited connective disorder causing increased bone fragility and low bone mass. OI includes severe bone fragility, impaired dentinogenesis, with less common alterations in the joints, blood vessels, heart valves, skin. Interestingly, description of left ventricular rupture, aortic dissection and heart valves incompetence has been ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of bone marrow cell injection on global strain and left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony. METHODS: In 14 patients with severe postinfarction heart failure, 93 (14) x 10(6) autologous bone marrow cells were percutaneously injected in the infarction border zone. LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV dyssynchrony and ...

BACKGROUND: Septal myectomy in young patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can be performed with low mortality, and leads to excellent improvement in symptoms. Left atrial (LA) enlargement has been associated with exercise intolerance, severity of mitral regurgitation (MR), and left ventricular (LV) outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction in adults with ...

BACKGROUND: The Tei index reflects both systolic and diastolic ventricular function. The aim of this study was to assess the Tei index by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and also to evaluate the correlation with growth hormone (GH) and the Tei index and left ventricular (LV) function assessed by TDI in ...

BACKGROUND: A left bundle branch block (LBBB) affects both global left ventricular (LV) function and mechanical dyssynchrony. The aim was to evaluate global LV function and mechanical dyssynchrony with real-time 3D echocardiography (RT3DE), in asymptomatic LBBB patients, healthy volunteers and patients with symptomatic heart failure (HF) and a LBBB. Furthermore, ...

Left ventricular (LV) dysfunction generally occurs early in the course of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We evaluated the prognostic value of electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities and echocardiographic LV dysfunction evaluated shortly after SAH. We prospectively enrolled 47 SAH patients (62 +/- 14 years, mean +/- SD) who were admitted to the neurosurgical ...