The Relationship Between High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Hypertension.

The authors aimed to evaluate the relationship between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and presence of left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction in patients with hypertension. A total of 95 newly diagnosed hypertensive patients (mean age, 54±10 years) and 20 controls were included in this study. Patients were divided into four groups according to relative wall thickness as normal, concentric remodeling, concentric, and eccentric hypertrophy.

[A case of symptomatic right atrial lipoma].

Cardiac lipomas are rarely diagnosed tumors of heart. They are encapsulated and matured lipoid tumors that are diagnosed equally in all age groups and sexes. Cardiac lipoma are diagnosed mostly in the left ventricle, right atrium, and interatrial septum.

Index of myocardial performance in patients with type 2 diabetes without hypertension and its relationship with clinical and echocardiographic parameters.

Background: Diabetes mellitus affects the systolic and diastolic function of the left ventricle (LV). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the index of myocardial performance (IMP), a new Doppler index, in asymptomatic, normotensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: The study population consisted of 40 asymptomatic normotensive patients with T2DM (22 women, 18 men; mean [±SD] age 49 ± 7 years) and 20 healthy controls (13 women, seven men; mean age 45 ± 4 years).

Stress-induced hypercontractility in patients with hypertension: an interesting imaging finding.

Excessive sympathetic activity and stress-induced LV hypercontractility may be detected in hypertensives or hypertensive LV hypertrophy. Recent quantitative data support that hypertensive patients may be associated with stress-induced LV hypercontractility. Stress-induced hypercontractility may also be related to basal LV cavity obliteration and dynamic LV outflow tract obstruction in hypertensives.

The relationship between cardiac troponins and left ventricular mass index in patients with chronic renal failure.

The abstract of this study was accepted as an oral presentation in the 10(th) Annual Meeting of the ESC Working Group on Echocardiography, December 6-9, 2006, Prague, Czech Republic.

CT assessment of main pulmonary artery diameter.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the normal range of the main pulmonary artery diameter (MPAD) by computed tomography (CT) in persons with normal pulmonary artery pressure, and then to evaluate the relationship of the diameter with age, gender, and body surface area (BSA).

Materials And Methods: Between October 2005 and June 2007, among patients who had previously undergone a contrast-enhanced thorax CT scan, 112 persons (47 females, 65 males) without pulmonary pathology were selected for the study. All patients had normal mean pulmonary artery pressure.

Myocardial blush grade: to evaluate myocardial viability in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Myocardial blush grade (MBG) is used to assess myocardial perfusion in the infarcted myocardium. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the analysis of myocardial blush grade after resolution of the acute phase of myocardial infarction is useful for assessing myocardial viability. The present study is consisted of 64 patients (55 men, mean age 55 +/-11 years) who had acute myocardial infarction and nonoccluded stenosis (>50%) in an infarct-related artery.

Pulmonary hypertension in sickle-cell disease: comorbidities and echocardiographic findings.

Background: Our aim is to determine comorbidities associated with pulmonary hypertension (PHT) in clinically stable sickle-cell disease (SCD) patients and to evaluate left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) function in those patients.

Methods: Echocardiography was performed in 87 SCD patients that were divided into group I (without PHT) and group II (with PHT). Both groups were compared with healthy controls.

P wave dispersion in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: its relation with clinical and echocardiographic parameters.

P wave dispersion (PWD) is a sign for the prediction of atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study was to assess P wave dispersion and its relation with clinical and echocardiographic parameters in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Thirty RA patients (mean age 49 +/- 10 years) and 27 healthy controls (mean age 47 +/- 8 years) were included in the study.

Increased QT dispersion in sickle cell disease: effect of pulmonary hypertension.

Background: QT dispersion has been proposed to be a predictor of adverse outcomes in a variety of cardiac disease states. The objective of this study was to examine QT dispersion in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and to assess the effect of pulmonary hypertension (PHT) on QT dispersion.

Methods: We performed Doppler echocardiographic assessments of pulmonary artery systolic pressure in 73 (mean age 18.

Autonomic dysfunction and cardiac repolarization abnormalities in patients with migraine attacks.

The clinical symptoms of migraine are widely accepted to be related to the involvement of the autonomic nervous system, and especially to dysfunction in the regulation of the circulatory system and autonomic balance. Disturbance of the autonomic nervous system is a primary characteristic of migraine Therefore, patients with migraine have a variety of symptoms, such as vasodilatation (flushing), pilo-erection, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cutaneous vasoconstriction (pallor), and diaphoresis. The electrocardiographic changes seen during a migraine attack compared with the pain-free period could be secondary to reversible disturbances of the state of autonomic innervation of the heart and coronary arteries.

Effect of weight loss on P wave dispersion in obese subjects.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate effect of loss weight on P wave dispersion in obese subjects.

Research Methods And Procedures: After a 12-week weight loss program (diet and medical therapy), a total of 30 (24 women and six men) obese subjects who had lost at least 10% of their original weight were included in the present study. All subjects underwent a routine standard 12-lead surface electrocardiogram.

Subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in multiple sclerosis.

Objectives: To investigate the left (LV) and right ventricular (RV) function in multiple sclerosis (MS) using standard echocardiography and Doppler tissue imaging (DTI).

Materials And Methods: A total of 41 patients with definite MS and 32 healthy controls were included in the study.

Results: LV end-systolic dimension was increased and LV ejection fraction was decreased in MS patients compared with controls (P < 0.

Right ventricular and pulmonary function in sickle cell disease patients with pulmonary hypertension.

The effects of sickle cell disease (SCD) on right ventricular (RV) and pulmonary function in SCD patients with pulmonary hypertension is not well-known. The aim of this study was to investigate RV and pulmonary functions in patients suffering from SCD with or without pulmonary hypertension using color tissue Doppler imaging and spirometry. We evaluated 48 asymptomatic patients with SCD.

Effect of weight loss on QTc dispersion in obese subjects.

Objective: Increased QTc dispersion is a predictor for ventricular arrhythmias. The aim of this study was to investigate whether QTc dispersion decreases after weight loss program with diet and medical treatment.

Methods: Total 30 (24 women and 6 men, mean age: 44+/-8 years) obese subjects who lost at least 10% of their original weight after 12 week weight loss program were included in present study.

Right ventricular diastolic abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis and its relationship with left ventricular and pulmonary involvement. A tissue Doppler echocardiographic study.

Objectives: To investigate right ventricular diastolic function in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its relationship with left ventricular and pulmonary involvement.

Methods: Thirty-five RA patients and 30 healthy subjects were submitted to conventional Doppler (CE) and tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) to assess left and right systolic and diastolic function and to estimate maximal arterial systolic pulmonary pressure (PAP). To detect pulmonary involvement, pulmonary function tests and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans were performed in all RA patients.

The relation between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary collateral vessels.

Coronary collateral vessels can provide a perfusion reserve in case of increased myocardial oxygen demand. Development of coronary collateral vessels (CCV) is triggered by the pressure gradient between the coronary bed of arteries caused by an obstruction and myocardial ischemia. Myocardial hypoxia can facilitate development of CCVs.

Evaluation of right ventricular function in patients with thyroid dysfunction.

Background: Thyroid gland dysfunction affects the structure and function of the heart. Tissue Doppler echocardiography is a new technique, and it has been used frequently in the evaluation of ventricular function. In the present study, right ventricular function was assessed in patients with overt or subclinical hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism and in healthy subjects using the tissue Doppler method, and results were compared.

Tissue Doppler echocardiography in evaluation of cardiac effects of subclinical hypothyroidism.

Objective: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is a mild form of thyroid failure, associated with initial signs of cardiovascular hypothyroidism. Tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) is a new and powerful method in evaluation of both regional and global systolic or diastolic ventricular function. We aimed to investigate the use of TDE in evaluation of cardiac effects of SH and affect of thyroid hormone replacement therapy (TRT) on tissue Doppler parameters of SH patients.

Evaluation of left atrial appendage functions in patients with thrombus and spontaneous echo contrast in left atrial appendage by using color Doppler tissue imaging.

Objective: Thrombus and spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) develops in the left atrial appendage (LAA) when LAA function is disturbed. Decrease of left atrial appendage emptying velocity shows LAA dysfunction. The purpose of this study is to examine the incidence of SEC and/or thrombus in LAA in patients with acute myocardial infarction and to assess the LAA function using color Doppler tissue imaging (CDTI) of the patients with detected SEC and/or thrombus.

Color Doppler tissue imaging to evaluate left atrial appendage function in patients with mitral stenosis in sinus rhythm.

Two-dimensional color Doppler tissue imaging (CDTI) has so far been used, in general, to evaluate ventricular function. In this study, the left atrial appendage (LAA) tissue velocity was measured by CDTI. LAA function in 38 patients with mitral stenosis in sinus rhythm (SR) and 19 healthy subjects undergoing transesophageal echocardiography were examined by CDTI.

Epidemiological and pharmacological profile of congestive heart failure at Turkish academic hospitals.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the status of the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) in academic hospitals in Turkey.

Methods: Overall 661 successive patients from 16 academic hospitals were included in this retrospective study. In addition to treatments given to the patients before admission to hospital, during their hospital stay, and at hospital discharge, data regarding their functional classifications, causes of CHF, and laboratory findings were also recorded.