Evaluation of pulmonary artery pressure in patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (jSLE).

Juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (jSLE) is a chronic multisystemic autoimmune disease. Previous studies among adults have shown impaired right ventricular (RV) function in patients with SLE. Also, these patients may develop pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH), which is one of the most threatening complications of SLE.

Evaluation of myocardial deformation in patients with Kawasaki disease using speckle-tracking echocardiography during mid-term follow-up.

Unlabelled: Speckle-tracking echocardiography is a recently developed technique for the evaluation of myocardial deformation or strain. Our objective was to examine strain through a mid-term follow-up of patients with Kawasaki disease.

Methods: We explored left ventricular mechanics using speckle-tracking echocardiography in 35 patients with a history of Kawasaki disease at least 6 months after the acute phase.

Detection of Early Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Young Patients With Thalassemia Major Using Tissue Doppler Imaging.

Background: Myocardial iron overload is the most common cause of mortality in patients with thalassemia major (TM), also known as beta-thalassemia. T2* cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the best way of monitoring cardiac iron, and new echocardiographic techniques can be used to assess cardiac function.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the systolic and diastolic right ventricular (RV) function of patients with TM using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and to determine whether this echocardiographic technique is an adequate diagnostic tool for the screening and detection of subclinical cardiac dysfunction.

Evaluation of cardiac functions in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus with two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography.

The aim of this study was to investigate subclinical systolic and diastolic dysfunction in juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (j-SLE) patients with speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) and the effects of disease activity on left ventricular (LV) regional functions. Thirty-five patients with j-SLE and 30 healthy children (control group) were evaluated between January and August 2015. STE was performed on all patients and controls.