[Echo-Doppler study of myxomatous mitral valve insufficiency and the results of reparative surgery].

The aim of conservative management of mitral regurgitation caused by floppy mitral valve is to restore a valvular function which closely resembles that of normal physiology. Fifty-eight patients affected by floppy mitral valve underwent surgical procedures for severe mitral regurgitation due to chordal elongation and/or rupture. Of these, 28 presented posterior mitral prolapse corrected by quadrangular excision of the prolapsed part and posterior anuloplasty achieved by apposition of a polytetrafluoroethylene conduit.

Quantitative regional contraction analysis of cineventriculography: reporting, filing, and retrieval functions using a personal computer.

A new method for the semiobjective evaluation of left ventricular wall contraction is proposed that uses a percent reduction of areas. The calculation model uses orthogonal coordinates, an internal reference system, and the concept of nonuniform reduction of the cavity, with its obliteration at the apex. From a normal patient population (ten males, four females; aged 45 +/- 13 years), a "normal reference curve" of contraction was obtained.

[Proposal of a standardized graphic system for collecting coronary angiographic data. Processing with a personal computer].

A standardized method for the representation and filing of coronary angiographies is proposed. Semi-automatic reference is guided by a computer algorithm. The final report displays a diagram which shows all the information in graphic and alpha-numeric form.

[Effect of the sympathetic activation and its inhibition on left ventricular mechanics in mitral prolapse. Echocardiographic study in 35 patients].

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is characterized by arrhythmias, atypical anginal chest pain and left ventricular (LV) wall motion abnormalities. The role of autonomic nervous system (ANS) as the origin of these disturbances is still debated. The aim of the study was to determine the possible interference between left ventricle (LV) mechanics and ANS.

[Contrast echocardiography in the diagnosis of tricuspid insufficiency. Evaluation before and after cardiosurgical intervention in 24 patients].

26 patients (pts) (8 males and 18 females), mean age 50 +/- 9 years, with rheumatic valve (MV) disease, candidates to MV replacement, were examined by contrast echocardiography (CE) before and after surgery. This was done in order to assess pre and postoperatively the presence of associated tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and to evaluate the short and long-term results of the operation on the TR itself. For assessing TR, the systolic presence, intensity and persistence of the microbubbles of the contrast medium injected into an antecubital vein, were observed within the inferior vena cava (IVC).

[The lipoproteic state in patients with coronary heart disease (author's transl)].

The lipoproteic state of 28 patients with coronary heart disease (CDH) and 44 normal subjects (total N. 72) has been analyzed. In normal subjects the results showed an increase of triglyceride (TG), VLDL with age.

[Echocardiographic study of left ventricular performance during sitting bicycle exercise (author's transl)].

Twelve healthy volunteers, mean age 25.4 +/- 4.18 years, performed sitting bicycle ergometer graded exercise to exhaustion.