Multicenter evaluation of SonoVue for improved endocardial border delineation.

Objectives: Two multicenter studies were conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SonoVue as a contrast agent for enhanced left ventricular endocardial border delineation (LVEBD), and to compare the efficacy of SonoVue and Albunex in adult patients with a suboptimal, nonenhanced echocardiogram.

Background: The use of contrast to enhance echocardiographic assessment of LVEBD is well-established. SonoVue is a new microbubble contrast agent that contains sulfur hexafluoride.

Double-blind, placebo-controlled study of ramipril in diabetics with mild to moderate hypertension.

Although hypertension and diabetes mellitus frequently appear as comorbidities, the pharmacotherapy of hypertension in patients with diabetes mellitus can aggravate underlying carbohydrate and lipid abnormalities. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the long-acting angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor ramipril in patients with insulin-dependent or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, the authors conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. After a single-blind washout period, 58 patients were randomly assigned to receive 2.

Value of a noninvasively induced ventricular extrasystole during echocardiographic and phonocardiographic assessment of patients with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis.

Fifteen patients with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis had a ventricular extrasystole induced with a new external mechanical cardiac stimulator during noninvasive evaluation of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Ten patients were monitored with simultaneous echocardiogram, phonocardiogram and indirect carotid pulse tracing; five were monitored with the phonocardiogram and indirect carotid pulse tracing alone. Nine of the 15 patients showed obstruction in the beat after the ventricular extrasystole, as defined by appearance of the characteristic bifid carotid pulse contour and, where recorded, an increase in systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve on echocardiography.