BACKGROUND: Prolonged steady state exercise can lead to a decrease in left ventricular (LV) function as well as promote the release of cardiac troponin T (cTnT). There is limited information on the effect of intermittent high intensity exercise of moderate duration. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of intermittent high intensity ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Although strenuous exercise has been reported to increase gastroesophageal reflux, there are few data exploring the mechanism behind this relationship. The aim of this study was to use vigorous exercise as a provocation for strain-induced reflux and examine the correlation between endoscopically assessed EGJ integrity and exercise-induced ...

This study questioned the effect of living and training at moderate altitude on cardiac morphological and functional adaptations and tested the incidences of potential specific adaptations compared with aerobic sea level training on maximal left ventricular performance. Sea level-native rats were randomly assigned to N (living in normoxia), NT (living ...

A large left atrial (LA) V wave can be observed in patients with pure mitral stenosis (MS) due to decreased LA compliance. Based on the hypothesis that exercise capacity may correlate with the magnitude of the LA V wave in patients with MS, symptom-limited exercise testing and right and left ...

Stress echocardiography plays an important role in evaluating asymptomatic patients with significant mitral stenosis and symptomatic patients with only mild disease at rest, as it correlates the exercise-induced symptoms with changes in transmitral gradients, pulmonary pressures, and mitral valve area. In patients with mitral regurgitation (MR), exercise or dobutamine protocols ...

Impaired exercise tolerance, determined by peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak), is predictive of mortality and the necessity for cardiac transplantation in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). However, the role of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function at rest, reflected by chamber stiffness assessed echocardiographically, as a determinant of exercise tolerance ...

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the prognostic implications of exercise echocardiography in patients who have reduced exercise capacity at the time of testing. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We examined the outcomes of 941 patients at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 1995, who had reduced exercise ...

This study was designed to determine the effects of antiarrhythmic agents on global left ventricular (LV) function during exercise in patients with chronic LV dysfunction. Thirty-five patients with LV dysfunction [LV ejection fraction (LVEF) < 45%] and ventricular arrhythmias were studied. They were randomly classified into 3 groups: patients who ...

BACKGROUND: A cardiac rehabilitation and prevention program (CRPP) is a recognized nonpharmacological modality in the management of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the effect of a CRPP on systolic function of the heart is controversial, and no data exists on diastolic function in CHD. A randomized, controlled study was conducted ...

Tissue-Doppler echocardiography (TDE) has been introduced to quantify stress echocardiography by means of assessing the left ventricular (LV) segmental myocardial velocities and excursion. The interaction between LV long- and short-axis function during physical exercise has not been elucidated completely. The aim of the present study was to investigate long- and ...

AIM OF THE STUDY: To detect in adult patients late after repair of Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) possible correlation between myocardial parameters assessed at rest by Tissue Doppler (TD) and cardiac performance during physical effort. METHODS: Doppler echo, treadmill test and pulsed TD of both mitral and tricuspid annulus were ...

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2) is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases of the aged and contributes to a significant amount of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Exercise training may be beneficial in attenuating the cardiovascular maladaptations associated with DM-2. The purpose of this study was to examine ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and prognostic implications of dyskinesia developing after exercise. BACKGROUND: The prevalence and prognostic implications of new-onset dyskinesia with exercise testing have not been previously described. METHODS: We considered 1005 consecutive patients who underwent exercise echocardiography and had akinetic segments ...

BACKGROUND: A decreased ratio of early to late diastolic mitral inflow velocities (E/A <1.0) reflects slowing of left ventricular (LV) relaxation. This finding is widely believed to indicate significant diastolic dysfunction. However, E/A <1.0 is common during normal aging and often is not associated with symptoms of heart failure. We ...

AIM: In patients with mitral stenosis, symptoms do not always correlate with echocardiographic data. The aims of the study were to evaluate the role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in the assessment of patients with mitral stenosis and to quantify nitric oxide production at rest and at the end of exercise. ...

Prospective studies have convincingly shown that sudden death in asymptomatic patients with AS is rare and prognosis is good as long as LV function, exercise tolerance and exercise hemodynamics remain normal. The time interval to development of LV dysfunction is not known. Therefore the initial evaluation should be confirmed after ...

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the mechanism of improvement in exercise capacity after the maze procedure. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Tertiary referral centre. PATIENTS: 26 patients (mean (SD) age 57 (9) years) with atrial fibrillation (AF) and mitral valve disease were studied with echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise testing before and after the ...

BACKGROUND: The effects of physical training on ventricular remodeling after extensive anterior acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have not yet been defined. This randomized controlled study examines whether exercise aggravates left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with extensive anterior AMI. METHODS: Forty-eight consecutive patients with a first extensive anterior AMI and ...

OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the determinants of exercise-induced changes in ischemic mitral regurgitation (MR) in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. BACKGROUND: In the post-myocardial infarction (MI) phase, ischemic MR contributes to worsening of symptoms and of LV dysfunction. METHODS: In this study, 70 patients in the chronic, post-MI ...

AIMS: We sought to determine if attenuation of the age-associated increase in arterial stiffness by habitual aerobic-endurance exercise would have corresponding effects on left ventricular (LV) structure and diastolic function. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a cross-sectional study on 138 young, middle-aged, and older men who were either sedentary, recreationally ...

AIMS: To study left ventricular mechanics of exercise with Doppler and tissue Doppler. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty-one males (mean age, 26; height, 184 cm; weight, 84 kg), exercised on a bicycle, with increasing workload, with oxygen uptake, Doppler flow and tissue Doppler recordings during exercise. There was correlation between peak ...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 20 km cycle race (TT) on left ventricular (LV) systolic and pulmonary function in 12 endurance cyclists. Spirometry, single-breath diffusion capacity (DLCO) with partitioning of membrane (DM) and capillary blood volume (Vc) components and 2-D echocardiograms were performed ...

Many studies have demonstrated that reduced left ventricular (LV) diastolic distensibility plays a key role in the pathophysiology of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, the relationship between myocardial ischemia and reduced LV distensibility in HCM remains unclear. We aimed to clarify the relationship between exercise-induced ischemia and reduced LV distensibility in ...

the effects of long-term administration of beta-blockers on left ventricular (LV) function during exercise in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are controversial. patients with stable congestive heart failure (CHF) (New York heart association [NYHA] class II and III) and ejection fraction (EF) < or ...

BACKGROUND: In the post-myocardial infarction phase, mortality risk is related to the severity of mitral regurgitation (MR). Ischemic MR is a dynamic condition that can be studied during exercise. Whether the assessment of exercise-induced changes in the degree of MR provides prognostic information is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ninety-eight consecutive ...

BACKGROUND: Prosthesis survival, growth, and functional status after initial mechanical mitral valve replacement (MVR) in children <5 years of age are poorly defined. METHODS AND RESULTS: The experience of the Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium (45 centers, 1982 to 1999), which included 102 survivors after initial MVR, was analyzed. Median follow-up: ...

BACKGROUND: Alfieri edge-to-edge mitral repair has been used clinically with ring annuloplasty to correct ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR), but its efficacy without concomitant ring annuloplasty has not been described in this setting. METHODS: Seventeen sheep underwent implantation of 9 radiopaque markers on the left ventricle, 8 on the mitral annulus ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of exercise training on LV geometry and LV diastolic function in a rat model of MI. METHODS: One month after MI induced by ligation of the left anterior descending artery (N = 45) or sham operation (N = 26), ...

Procedural technical success of balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV) is indicated by an increase in valve area and a reduction in transvalvar gradient, but there are conflicting results regarding whether these indicators correlate with subsequent improvements in exercise capacity. We conducted a study to explore the effects of valvuloplasty on cardiac ...

Exercise-induced impairment of left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction is common in patients with acromegaly and normal resting systolic function. This study aimed to clarify whether diastolic dysfunction plays a role in the abnormal adaptation to exercise in these patients. Forty-eight patients with active acromegaly underwent LV radionuclide angiography at rest ...

Adenosine (Ado), a naturally occurring autacoid, exerts cardioprotective effects against myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury, through activation of its receptors type 1 (A1) and 2A (A2A). Since ageing involves a complex change in these effects, we evaluated A1 and A2A gene expression in left (LV) and right ventricle (RV) from ...

Aging is associated with impaired early diastolic filling; however, the effect of endurance training on resting diastolic function in older subjects is unclear. Heart rate and ventricular loading conditions affect mitral inflow velocities measured by Doppler echocardiography; therefore, tissue Doppler imaging of mitral annular velocity, which is relatively preload independent, ...

BACKGROUND: The effects of exercise training (ET) on left ventricular (LV) remodeling in chronic heart failure are not definitively established, and the safety of ET in these patients is still debated. METHODS AND RESULTS: This multicenter study investigated the long-term effect of moderate ET on LV remodeling, work capacity, and ...

BACKGROUND: Latent left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in patients with valvular or myocardial disease may be identified by loss of contractile reserve (CR) at exercise echocardiography. Contraction in the LV longitudinal axis may be more sensitive than radial contraction to minor disturbances of LV function. We sought to determine whether tissue ...

AIMS: Valve compliance might determine the onset of symptoms better than resting measures of aortic stenosis. This study compared valve compliance measured by dobutamine stress echocardiography with resting haemodynamic variables against the end-point of symptoms at low workload during exercise testing. METHODS AND RESULTS: Echocardiography was performed at rest and ...

BACKGROUND: Determinants of exercise capacity have not been clearly defined in hypertensive patients. Doppler tissue imaging (DTI), a recently developed echocardiographic modality, is useful for evaluating left ventricular (LV) function regardless of loading conditions. The present study was performed to identify the determinants of exercise capacity in hypertensive patients using ...

This study examines the use of a novel 2-dimensional echocardiographic technique to measure left ventricular (LV) systolic torsion or twist in normal human hearts during maximal exercise. The effects of dynamic exercise on LV twist have not previously been determined. LV twist was measured in 25 healthy human control patients ...

Balloon angioplasty (PTA) is an established treatment modality for stenosis in dysfunctional arteriovenous fistulae (AVF), although most studies showing efficacy have been retrospective, uncontrolled, and nonrandomized. In addition, it is unknown whether correction of stenosis not associated with significant hemodynamic, functional, and clinical abnormality may improve survival in AVF. This ...

An exaggerated SBP response to exercise has been associated with increased left ventricular (LV) mass in some but not all studies. A total of 43 women and 34 men, aged 55-75 years, without evidence of cardiovascular disease, with a mean resting BP of 142+/-9/77+/-8 mmHg had their BP measured at ...

To examine whether the central characteristics of the aortic baroreflex alter from moment to moment during static exercise, we identified the dynamic changes in the sizes of the bradycardia and depressor response evoked by stimulation of the aortic depressor nerve (ADN). Three conscious cats were trained to voluntarily extend the ...

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an important limiting factor of exercise tolerance in patients with mitral stenosis (MS). We wished to investigate the relationship between respiratory nitric oxide (NO), a potent vasodilator, and exercise tolerance in patients with moderate MS. In the same patients, we wondered whether acute change in ...

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of late potentials (LP) in female triathletes before and after prolonged strenuous exercise (PSE), and to determine whether LP are related to greater left ventricular (LV) dimensions and/or mass. Thirteen female triathletes were examined immediately before (Pre), one hour after ...

Sudden cardiac death is a well-documented complication of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and additionally, failure to raise blood pressure (BP) during exercise has been associated with a poor outcome. The present study group comprised 58 patients with hypertrophic non-obstructive cardiomyopathy (HNCM) who were receiving beta-blocker therapy. All patients underwent submaximal exercise radionuclide ...

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the efficacy of the cardiopulmonary exercise test as an objective indicator of functional status and as a pre-operative prognostic indicator in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR) and aortic regurgitation (AR). METHODS: Cardiopulmonary exercise tests and echocardiography were performed in 47 patients (MR: 30, AR: 15, MR + ...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not patients with moderate to severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction benefit from exercise training starting early after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) without deteriorating LV remodeling. METHODS: We investigated changes in exercise capacity and LV end-diastolic dimension (LVDd by two-dimensional ...

Although FEV1 improvement is routinely used to define bronchodilator (BD) response, it correlates poorly with clinical effects. Changes in lung volumes (LV) have shown better correlation with exercise tolerance and might be more sensitive to detect BD effects. We assessed the additional contribution of measuring LV before and after BD ...

Valvular heart disease in physically active patients can present a diagnostic challenge, because adaptations to exercise may mimic abnormalities. Electrocardiograms may be used to follow asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic athletes but are not very useful for those with valve disorders. Moderate-to-severe aortic insufficiency requires careful follow-up and periodic echocardiograms to ...

AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate in 263 competitive athletes possible correlations between changes induced by different sport activities in left ventricular (LV) structure and cardiac response during maximal physical effort. METHODS: A total of 160 top-level endurance athletes (ATE; swimmers, runners; 28+/-4 years; 98 male) and ...

Aortic stiffness increases with advancing age and is associated with the age-related decline in exercise capacity in healthy persons. Previous studies have suggested that aortic compliance is reduced in heart failure (HF). Older persons with systolic HF can have particularly severe exercise intolerance. However, the relation between increased aortic stiffness ...

One of the most debilitating effects of primary aging is the decline in aerobic exercise capacity. One of its causes is an age-related decline in peak exercise stroke volume. This study's main purpose was to determine the cardiovascular adaptations to aging that most influence peak exercise stroke volume in the ...