Left atrial enlargement in competitive athletes and atrial electrophysiology.

Introduction And Objectives: There are scarce data on left atrial (LA) enlargement and electrophysiological features in athletes.

Methods: Multicenter observational study in competitive athletes and controls. LA enlargement was defined as LA volume indexed to body surface area ≥ 34mL/m.

Apparent Ventricular Dysfunction in Elite Young Athletes: Another Form of Cardiac Adaptation of the Athlete's Heart.

Background: The authors previously observed that some high-performance athletes, irrespective of type of sport, can show echocardiographically determined low left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF; <52%) together with normal heart rates and nondilated left ventricular (LV) cavities under resting conditions. The aim of this study was to determine if this phenomenon is associated with dyssynchronous motion of the interventricular septum relative to the lateral LV wall.

Methods: Results of M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiography and pulsed-wave, pulsed-wave tissue, and color tissue Doppler were compared in 70 athletes (mean age, 20 ± 7 years; 77% men) with low LVEFs (<52%) participating in a wide variety of sports and a control group of 564 athletes (mean age, 22 ± 7 years; 61% men) with normal LVEFs (≥52%).

Reference Values of Aortic Root in Male and Female White Elite Athletes According to Sport.

Background: There is limited information regarding the aortic root upper physiological limits in all planes in elite athletes according to static and dynamic cardiovascular demands and sex.

Methods And Results: A cross-sectional study was performed in 3281 healthy elite athletes (2039 men and 1242 women) aged 23.1±5.

Early Transthoracic Echocardiography after Cardiac Surgery Predicts Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation.

Purpose: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is frequent after cardiac surgery. We aimed to establish a predictive model of POAF based on postoperative transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) findings.

Methods: This study included 147 patients (aged 67 ± 11 years; 109 men) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting and/or aortic valve replacement.

Infectious endocarditis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae in a cardiac surgery patient: a new form of clinical presentation.

High mortality associated with pneumococcal endocarditis is due to late diagnosis and the frequency of complications, which usually require early diagnostic and intensive therapeutic measures. We present the first reported case of pneumococcal endocarditis with simultaneous infection of an aortic prosthetic valve, native tricuspid valve, and permanent pacemaker lead.

Implantable MicroPump for Drug Delivery in Patients with Diabetic Macular Edema.

Purpose: To demonstrate the safety and surgical feasibility of the first-in-man ocular implant of a novel Posterior MicroPump Drug Delivery System (PMP) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) and to report on the device capabilities for delivering a programmable microdose.

Methods: This was a single center, single arm, open-label, prospective study. Eleven patients with DME and visual acuity equal to or worse than 20/40 were included.

Left ventricular global longitudinal systolic strain predicts adverse remodeling and subsequent cardiac events in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

To determine whether left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) predicts adverse LV remodeling and cardiac events. In a prospective cohort study of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), we recorded clinical data and GLS, global circumferential strain and radial strain using two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography of the left ventricle. At 6-month and 3-year follow-ups, patients were grouped by presence or absence of adverse LV remodeling.

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase and xanthine oxidase activities in erythrocytes and plasma from marine, semiaquatic and terrestrial mammals.

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and xanthine oxidase (XO) are key enzymes involved in the purine salvage pathway. PNP metabolizes purine bases to synthetize purine nucleotides whereas XO catalyzes the oxidation of purines to uric acid. In humans, PNP activity is reported to be high in erythrocytes and XO activity to be low in plasma; however, XO activity increases after ischemic events.

Recurrent intraventricular thrombus six months after ST-elevation myocardial infarction in a diabetic man: a case report.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention with placement of a drug-eluting stent in a diabetic patient with ST-elevation myocardial infarction is a relatively common procedure, and always requires subsequent treatment with dual antiplatelet therapy. It is sometimes necessary to add oral anticoagulation therapy because of individual clinical circumstances, which further increases the risk of bleeding.

Case Presentation: A 66-year-old hypertensive diabetic man with a history of gastrointestinal bleeding was admitted with an ST-elevation inferior myocardial infarction that had been evolving over 72 h.

Prognostic value of echocardiographic-derived calcium index in coronary artery disease diagnosed by 64-multidetector computed tomography.

Purpose: To determine whether echocardiographic calcium index (ECI) calculated using transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) predicts coronary ischemic events. We also wished to determine coronary artery calcium score (CACS), the presence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and plaque composition, all of which were assessed by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT).

Methods: We carried out a prospective cohort study of 82 consecutive outpatients with chest pain and low-moderate risk of CAD, referred for noninvasive coronariography by MDCT.

Pulmonary valve infective endocarditis in an adult patient with severe congenital pulmonary stenosis and ostium secundum atrial septal defect.

A hypertensive 76-year-old man with severe pulmonary valve stenosis (PVS) and recent initiation of haemodialysis was referred with fever, chills, and asthenia. One month prior, he had been admitted with similar symptoms. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) had shown a PVS and no valve vegetations were observed.

Cardiovascular adaptation, functional capacity and Angiotensin-converting enzyme I/D polymorphism in elite athletes.

Introduction And Objectives: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is associated with the development of cardiac hypertrophy and improved physical fitness. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the ACE gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and adaptation to sports training.

Methods: The study included 299 elite Spanish athletes (193 men and 106 women) from 32 different sports disciplines, which were grouped according to their static and dynamic components.

Time-dependent changes in cardiac growth after kidney transplantation: the impact of pre-dialysis ventricular mass.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD), including kidney transplant recipients. However, time-related left ventricular mass changes (DeltaLVM) from pre-dialysis stage to beyond the first post-transplant year have not been clearly identified.

Methods: We studied a cohort of 60 stages 4-5 CKD patients without overt cardiac disease, who underwent three echocardiograms during follow-up: at pre-dialysis stage, on dialysis and after kidney transplantation (KT).

Role of endogenous interleukin-10 production and lipid peroxidation in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, interleukin-10 and primary angioplasty.

Background: Currently available evidence suggests a potentially protective role for interleukin (IL)-10 in atherosclerosis. Reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, peroxynitrite, and hydroxyl radical, seem to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion injury. The aim of this study was to assess whether a rise in lipid peroxidation (LPx), as malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4 hydroxyalkenal (4-HNE), during acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with serum concentrations of IL-10.

Light/dark patterns of interleukin-6 in relation to the pineal hormone melatonin in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Aims: Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease that, from its origin to its ultimate complications, involves inflammatory cells, inflammatory proteins, and inflammatory responses from vascular cells. It has been demonstrated that cytokine activities are under neuroendocrine control, in part exerted by the pineal gland through the circadian secretion of its main product melatonin. Melatonin is mainly released during the night, but the precise relationship between melatonin and the light/dark rhythm of interleukin-6 in patients with acute myocardial infarction is still unclear.

The ACE/DD genotype is associated with the extent of exercise-induced left ventricular growth in endurance athletes.

Objectives: We studied the impact of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)/DD genotype on morphologic and functional cardiac changes in adult endurance athletes.

Background: Trained athletes usually develop adaptive left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and ACE gene polymorphisms may regulate myocardial growth. However, little is known about the impact of the ACE/DD genotype and D allele dose on the cardiac changes in adult endurance athletes.

[Circadian variations in proinflammatory cytokine concentrations in acute myocardial infarction].

Introduction And Objectives: The concentration of certain proinflammatory cytokines has been found to be elevated in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Many studies have shown that coronary ischemic accidents do not show a uniform distribution throughout the day, but instead exhibit rhythmic variations. The objective of this study is to determine whether there is a circadian pattern of variation in the concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines in patients with acute myocardial infarction.