Non-invasive diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension from lung Doppler signal: a proof of concept study.

Transthoracic Parametric Doppler (TPD) is a novel ultrasound technique recently developed for the investigation of pulmonary blood vessels. Lung Doppler Signals (LDS) recorded from TPD provide information regarding the functional mechanical characteristics of pulmonary blood vessels. We aimed to define the specific profile of LDS generated from TPD imaging in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of LDS to detect PH using right heart catheterization (RHC) as gold standard reference.

Hereditary right axis deviation: electrocardiographic pattern of pseudo left posterior hemiblock and incomplete right bundle branch block.

We present a family with a hereditary electrocardiographic pattern of pseudo left posterior hemiblock and incomplete right bundle branch block which resulted in right axis deviation. The mother had a normal electrocardiogram, while the father and their two sons presented the above-described electrocardiographic features. Clinical, radiological and echocardiographic evaluation excluded structural and functional cardiac abnormalities as well as chest deformities and lung disease.

The scale of myocardial involvement in varicella myocarditis.

Two patients with varicella myocarditis are described. An arrhythmia associated with complete recovery occurred in the first patient whereas intractable congestive heart failure complicated by hemiplegia resulted in a fatal outcome in the other case. We stress the extent of myocardial involvement produced by the herpes zoster virus in the setting of varicella.

R wave amplitude changes during stress testing in ischemic patients with normal epicardial coronary arteries.

R wave amplitude changes during stress testing were validated in 12 ischemic patients with normal coronary angiograms. The data were compared with findings obtained from 10 patients with clinical and angiographic evidence of coronary arterial disease and 10 normal controls. An abnormal R wave amplitude response occurred in 83.

The value of electrocardiography in patients with right ventricular endocardial pacemakers in the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy: a correlative study of pace electrocardiography and left ventricular mass derived from M-mode echocardiography.

This study evaluated 51 patients with permanent apical right ventricular endocardial pacemakers. The assessment of the diagnostic value of pace electrocardiograms for the determination of left ventricular hypertrophy revealed specificity of 94% and sensitivity of 66%, applying a new parameter: RL1 + SV3 greater than or equal to 30 mm. The application of this criterion in the interpretation of pace electrocardiograms correlated well with values for the left ventricular mass derived from M-mode echocardiograms (r = 0.