Cardiac and renal function in a large cohort of amateur marathon runners.

Background: Participation of amateur runners in endurance races continues to increase. Previous studies of marathon runners have raised concerns about exercise-induced myocardial and renal dysfunction and damage. In our pooled analysis, we aimed to characterize changes of cardiac and renal function after marathon running in a large cohort of mostly elderly amateur marathon runners.

Echocardiographic follow-up of patients with systemic sclerosis by 2D speckle tracking echocardiography of the left ventricle.

Background: Subclinical myocardial involvement is common in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and associated with poor prognosis. Early detection, particularly during follow-up, is important. Two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) has already been shown to detect early left ventricular systolic impairment in SSc patients with advanced disease.

Six years of clinical follow-up with endothelial cell-seeded small-diameter vascular grafts during coronary bypass surgery.

This clinical study was performed to investigate the patency rate of endothelial cell-seeded small-diameter expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts during coronary artery bypass surgery. Between September 1995 and December 1998, 14 patients (median age: 71 years, range: 61-79 years) received 21 endothelial cell-seeded small-diameter grafts. In all, 43% of the performed implantations were reoperations.

Combined measurement of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and highly sensitive cardiac troponin T for diagnosis and monitoring of heart injury in chronic Chagas' disease.

Objective: Chronic Chagas disease afflicts millions of patients in Latin America of which 70% remain asymptomatic but 30% develop fatal heart injury. To evaluate the impact of laboratory medicine for diagnosis and guiding of patients with Chagas' heart disease, we measured N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT).

Design And Methods: NT-proBNP and cTnT using the highly sensitive assay (hs-cTnT) were measured in 48 asymptomatic Chagas' patients (control group; (-) CM), and in symptomatic patients who suffered from mild/moderate (group (+/++) CM, n=62) or severe cardiomyopathy (group (+++) CM, n=27).

Galectin-3 increase in endurance athletes.

Background: Galectin-3 is a new and promising biomarker for heart failure and myocardial fibrosis. Although endurance exercise is a crucial element in cardiovascular disease prevention, the relationship between exercise and plasma levels of galectin-3 is still unknown. To date, the relationship between regular exercise and myocardial fibrosis is not fully understood.

Exercise-induced changes of left ventricular diastolic function in postmenopausal amateur marathon runners: assessment by echocardiography and cardiac biomarkers.

Purpose: Diastolic dysfunction is common among elderly women. Recently, concerns regarding marathon-induced myocardial damage were raised among young male runners. The goal of our study was to assess the impact of marathon running on systolic and diastolic ventricular function before and immediately after completing a marathon among postmenopausal well-trained amateur women.

Cardiac effects of experimental intravenous bone marrow cell transplantation after myocardial infarction.

Objectives: Chronic heart failure after myocardial infarction is still a serious problem without a fundamental therapy. Direct intramyocardial transplantation of bone marrow cells (BMC) is promising but difficult to perform. Therefore, cardiac effect of experimental intravenous application of BMC after myocardial infarction (MI) is evaluated.

Head-to-head comparison of left ventricular function assessment with 64-row computed tomography, biplane left cineventriculography, and both 2- and 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging as the reference standard.

Objectives: This study was designed to compare the accuracy of 64-row contrast computed tomography (CT), invasive cineventriculography (CVG), 2-dimensional echocardiography (2D Echo), and 3-dimensional echocardiography (3D Echo) for left ventricular (LV) function assessment with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Background: Cardiac function is an important determinant of therapy and is a major predictor for long-term survival in patients with coronary artery disease. A number of methods are available for assessment of function, but there are limited data on the comparison between these multiple methods in the same patients.

Acute regional improvement of myocardial function after interventional transfemoral aortic valve replacement in aortic stenosis: a speckle tracking echocardiography study.

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a promising therapy for patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and high perioperative risk. New echocardiographic methods, including 2D Strain analysis, allow the more accurate measurement of left ventricular (LV) systolic function. The goal of this study was to describe the course of LV reverse remodelling immediately after TAVI in a broad spectrum of patients with symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis.

Two-dimensional speckle tracking of the left ventricle in patients with systemic sclerosis for an early detection of myocardial involvement.

Aims: Myocardial involvement is associated with poor prognosis in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) is a powerful novel modality for the assessment of subclinical cardiac left ventricular (LV) dysfunction that, so far, has not been investigated in SSc patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate deformation analyses derived from STE for early detection of LV systolic dysfunction in patients with SSc having preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Single beat 3D echocardiography for the assessment of right ventricular dimension and function after endurance exercise: Intraindividual comparison with magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Our study compares new single beat 3D echocardiography (sb3DE) to cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) for the measurement of right ventricular (RV) dimension and function immediately after a 30 km run. This is to validate sb3DE against the "gold standard" CMR and to bring new insights into acute changes of RV dimension and function after endurance exercise.

Methods: 21 non-elite male marathon runners were examined by sb3DE (Siemens ACUSON SC2000, matrix transducer 4Z1c, volume rates 10-29/s), CMR (Siemens Magnetom Avanto, 1,5 Tesla) and blood tests before and immediately after each athlete ran 30 km.

Noninvasive monitoring of cardiac function in a chronic ischemic heart failure model in the rat: assessment with tissue Doppler and non-Doppler 2D strain echocardiography.

Objectives: Feasibility of noninvasive monitoring of cardiac function after surgically induced ischemic cardiomyopathy with tissue Doppler and non-Doppler 2D strain echocardiography in rats.

Background: The optimal method for quantitative assessment of global and regional ventricular function in rats with chronic heart failure for research purposes remains unclear.

Methods: 20 rats underwent suture ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery via a left thoracotomy to induce ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Cardiac troponin T measured with a highly sensitive assay for diagnosis and monitoring of heart injury in chronic Chagas disease.

Context: Chronic Chagas disease (15 million patients; annual incidence, 40, 000 patients; annual mortality, 12 ,500 patients) is the most serious parasitic disease in Latin America. Between 10 and 30 years after infection, 30% of patients with Chagas disease develop heart injury, which is the main reason for its high mortality. Consequently, frequent cardiac diagnostics are required for patients with Chagas disease.

Successful reduction of intraventricular asynchrony is associated with superior response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is generally associated with a low to moderate increase of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). In some patients, however, LVEF improves remarkably and reaches near-normal values. The aim of the present study was to further characterize these so called 'super-responders' with a special focus on the extent of intra- and interventricular asynchrony before and after device implantation compared to average responders.

Echocardiographic diagnosis, management and monitoring of pulmonary embolism with right heart thrombus in a patient with myotonic dystrophy: a case report.

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common disease which frequently results in life-threatening right ventricular (RV) failure. High-risk PE, presenting with hypotension, shock, RV dysfunction or right heart thrombus is associated with a high mortality, particularly during the first few hours. Accordingly, it is important to commence effective therapy as soon as possible.

Cardiac troponin T release and inflammation demonstrated in marathon runners.

Background: As shown on the basis of highly sensitive assays, cardiac troponin release is now observed after physiological heart stress and in mild heart pathologies: both are [corrected] considered unrelated to the irreversible cardiac alteration that is typically the source of release. Transitory cardiac membrane leakage was suggested as the basis. In our view, mild inflammation may drive this type of cardiac troponin release.

Distinct patterns of autoantibodies against G-protein-coupled receptors in Chagas' cardiomyopathy and megacolon. Their potential impact for early risk assessment in asymptomatic Chagas' patients.

Objectives: Distinguishing the patterns of autoantibodies (AAB) against G-protein-coupled receptors in Chagas' cardiomyopathy and megacolon and the discovery of such a pattern in patients who are as yet asymptomatic could help to identify patients at high risk of developing the life-threatening complications of Chagas' disease.

Background: Such AAB against receptors as beta 1 (beta1-AAB), beta 2 (beta2-AAB), and muscarinergic 2 (M2-AAB) are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of Chagas' cardiomyopathy and megacolon, the predominant manifestations of Chagas' disease, which is the most serious parasitic disease in Latin America.

Methods: Beta1-AAB, beta2-AAB, and M2-AAB were measured in the serum of asymptomatic Chagas' patients and in those with cardiomyopathy and/or megacolon.

Early right ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with systemic sclerosis without pulmonary hypertension: a Doppler Tissue and Speckle Tracking echocardiography study.

Background: Isovolumetric acceleration (IVA) is a novel tissue Doppler parameter for the assessment of systolic function. The aim of this study was to evaluate IVA as an early parameter for the detection of right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) without pulmonary hypertension.

Methods: 22 patients and 22 gender- and age-matched healthy subjects underwent standard echocardiography with tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and speckle tracking strain to assess RV function.

Pregnancy outcome in patients with complex pulmonary atresia: case report and review of the literature.

Pulmonary atresia, a rare and complex congenital heart disease, is characterized by the absence of the central pulmonary artery and by the presence of a ventricular septal defect and aortopulmonary collaterals. Pregnancy reports concerning maternal and offspring outcome after palliative operation or repaired pulmonary atresia are sparse. We report here on the outcome of pregnancy in a woman, aged 36, with complex pulmonary atresia in whom palliative operation had been performed at the age of 23.

Planimetry of the aortic valve orifice area: comparison of multislice spiral computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: We sought to determine the comparability of multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for measuring the aortic valve orifice area (AVA) and grading aortic valve stenosis.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-seven individuals, among them 18 patients with valvular stenosis, underwent AVA planimetry by both MSCT and MRI. In the subset of patients with valvular stenosis, AVA was also calculated from transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTE) using the continuity equation.

A modified echocardiographic protocol with intrinsic plausibility control to determine intraventricular asynchrony based on TDI and TSI.

Background: Established methods to determine asynchrony suffer from high intra- and interobserver variability and failed to improve patient selection for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Thus, there is a need for easy and robust approaches to reliably assess cardiac asynchrony.

Methods And Results: We performed echocardiography in 100 healthy subjects and 33 patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB).

Myocardial function in older male amateur marathon runners: assessment by tissue Doppler echocardiography, speckle tracking, and cardiac biomarkers.

Background: Participation of older men in endurance races continues to increase. Recent studies on marathon runners raised concerns about a transient myocardial dysfunction and damage. The aim of our study was to compare the extent of marathon-induced myocardial dysfunction in young and older runners and to identify its potential correlation to elevated cardiac biomarkers.

Bronchogenic cyst of the interatrial septum presenting as atrioventricular block.

Bronchogenic cysts are congenital lesions that are a remnant from abnormal budding of the embryonic foregut. These cysts are usually single; most cases are either asymptomatic or present with respiratory symptoms. A 43-year-old woman presented with intermittent type II atrioventricular block during cholecystectomy.