Does mitral regurgitation reduce the risks of thrombosis in atrial fibrillation and flutter?

Aims: Blood stasis is the main cause of left atrial thrombosis (LAT) in atrial tachyarrhythmias. The high-velocity flow inside the left atrium, due to mitral valve regurgitation, may prevent clot formation but the topic has never been investigated in large-scale studies. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether the presence and degree of mitral regurgitation have a protective role against LAT risk.

Frequency and Clinical Significance of Right Atrial Embryonic Remnants Involvement in Infective Endocarditis.

Background: The involvement of atrial embryonic remnants in infective endocarditis (IE) has seldom been reported. The study aim was to evaluate the prevalence of vegetations on right atrial embryonic remnants (RAER) in patients with a definitive diagnosis of IE.

Methods: Since 1998, all consecutive patients with suspected IE were referred to the authors' institution to undergo transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).

[Current incidence of congenital heart disease diagnosed in the first year of life: results of a 20-year registry with one-year follow-up and comparison with the literature].

Background: The epidemiological data on the incidence of congenital heart defects derive from retrospective registries based on birth discharge codes with methodological limits and different selection criteria. Our aim was to determine the actual incidence of congenital heart defects in the first year of life in a population of residents in a province of Tuscany, Italy.

Methods: This prospective study was conducted in 31 185 newborn residents in the province, enrolling a consecutive population throughout the first year of life and followed up at least for one year.

Epidemiological and mortality trends in infective endocarditis, a 17-year population-based prospective study.

Background: The population at risk, the clinical and microbiological features of infective endocarditis (IE) have changed. Aim of our study was to evaluate the contemporary epidemiological trends, over a 17-year period in a definite region of Tuscany, Italy, to analyze the clinical outcomes and associated prognostic factors.

Methods: From 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2014, all patients with a definite diagnosis of IE were prospectively entered in a data-base.

Impact of tissue harmonic imaging in patients with distorted left ventricles: improvement in accuracy and reproducibility of visual, manual and automated echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction.

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the incremental value of tissue harmonic imaging vs conventional echocardiography for evaluating left ventricular ejection fraction by manual and automated quantitation as well as visual estimation in patients with distorted left ventricles.

Methods And Results: In 25 patients unselected for image quality and with distorted left ventricles who underwent a nuclear study, digital cineloops of standard apical views were acquired by both tissue harmonic imaging and conventional echocardiography and sent to six observers for analysis of visual and quantitative left ventricular ejection fraction. Tissue harmonic imaging improved both the correlation and agreement of all echo techniques with nuclear measures, compared with conventional echocardiography echo, reducing standard errors (SE) to below 10%: for the visual estimate SE=7.

[Echocardiography with reconstructed M-mode: technical aspects and clinical applications].

Reconstructed M-mode imaging is a new post-processing technique that permits the reconstruction of any cardiac structure and flow from cine-loops of different sources (tissue, color Doppler and tissue Doppler cine-loops) in M-mode format. This technique can be useful in a number of clinical situations and can facilitate the echocardiographic examination, allowing for correct and easy M-mode analysis to be performed at any time, both at the patient's bedside as well as off-line. In this paper the fundamental technical features and current clinical applications of reconstructed M-mode imaging are illustrated and discussed.